Persona Q - Shadows of the Heart
by Team Megami
Summary: "His actions created a world, and his actions brought him there. As a result, the door was opened and both universes will fall to darkness... There is one last hope though. One last chance." - Four souls with a common link have been summoned to a mysterious labyrinth. What binds these people together, and will they be able to survive in a ruined world?
1. Prologue

Name: Persona Q - Shadows of the Heart  
Rating: M for Mature (Graphic Violence, Instances of Crude Language, Religious Themes and Sexual Themes)  
Genres: Action/Adventure/Humour/Romance/Mystery/Drama

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Prologue  
White Wishes / The Beginning

_There were many ways their story could have been brought to an untimely end. However, the creation of the Great Seal was the only way to prevent mankind from becoming extinct… At least, that's what I thought. After the last Wild Card abandoned her contract and went against the laws of nature, I had to make drastic moves to set history back on its proper course. He would suffer, but I know that I've done what was best for humanity. If I lose, then this world would be destroyed. I have seen how his story could end: Those he loved dead and he becomes a beast, driven by revenge. This was not the path I had set for him, but merely a possibility. His fate was to give up everything to save the world… There is another though. Another whose fate is unclear. _

_His fate was twisted, distorted and as a result, the possibility that he can defy his fate exists. He can be called a demon. Though the ones who know him would call him an angel… I will not. He bathes in the blood of his enemies, and enjoys the feel of battle. He is not fit to be a Wild Card. Even so, he and his family were forced into our little game by a being even more powerful than myself. I can't help but feel sorry for him. I have seen the ways his story could end as well. The sound of bells drove him to insanity and with those he loved dead, he chased the monster that killed them across time and space, with only a single purpose: To kill. In the end though, he failed, and that world falls to ruin. Even I am unsure of what path his world will go down._

_Their worlds are separate. Neither is aware of the other. Those are the laws that the universe is governed by… I did not anticipate what these outcomes would bring, however. His actions created a world, and his actions brought him there. As a result, the door was opened and both universes will fall to darkness… There is one last hope though. One last chance. I wouldn't normally consider this, but I am out of options. Bringing those two and those connected to them together might cause more pain, more suffering, but ultimately this is what is best for both worlds…_

~Shadows of the Heart~

"Hey, dumbass! Rise and shine!" I heard Yukari's voice yell as the covers were thrown off my body. The lack of warmth surrounding me was immediately noticeable and I reluctantly sat up.

"Alright, alright, I'm up!" I said, rubbing my eyes with my right arm, "What time is it?"

"Eleven o'clock." She replied, "We have an hour to get ready. How's your arm?"

"Fine." I swung my left arm around, letting out a small grunt as I did so, "I'm used to it by this point."

"Right." She nodded, and then walked toward the door, "I'll let you get ready." She put a hand on the door handle but then paused, "…The Promised Day is tomorrow. It's kinda scary to think about."

"The only one I'm after is the Shadowlord." I told her, standing up and walking to my desk, "It's a shame we'll have to go through _him_ to get to the Shadowlord though… I wonder how he's doing…?"

"…I'm sure he doesn't want to fight you too." She said knowingly and exited the room, leaving me to check everything over in peace. I wasn't alone for too long though. I felt a stirring in my soul and I heard a familiar female voice yawn in my mind.

"…_**Morning…"**_

"It's night." I said amusedly.

"_**Really…? Hmm…"**_

"Heheh, had a good sleep?" I asked her, summoning Crimson Rose and checking it before making it disappear.

"_**Yes. So we're heading to Tartarus tonight?"**_

"Yes." I summoned Beastlord, my two handed weapon to my hand and looked over it before de-summoning it… Wonder if that's an actual word; will have to ask Weiss later, "There's some unfinished business in the Labyrinth that I have to take care of."

"_**Don't forget the eye- -"**_

"Yeah, yeah, I know." I grumbled, opening up the second drawer and pulling out said eye-patch. Can it even be called an eye-patch if it covers half my face? Ah, whatever. I put it on; making sure it's secure at the back. I took a minute to get used to seeing only through my right eye before continuing with the preparations, "Such a pain… The lack of depth perception takes some getting used to."

"_**Hey, you were the one who decided to host my soul in your body… I am truly grateful for what you did."**_

"It's nothing." I brush off, checking the Phoenix Spear before de-summoning it, "You needed my help and I gave it. I already host about five souls, what's one more?"

"_**It isn't exactly safe."**_

"I can handle it." I said, putting on the clothes I was given by Fuuka and my mother; a black V-necked shirt that is worn underneath a black trench coat with grey lining, black pants and black boots with sliver plates to protect my shins. I wondered how they managed to figure out what my favourite colour was, and I still do to this day. It looks stylish as hell as well, so that's a plus. I turned to look at Weiss who was floating around.

"Ready to go, Weiss?" I asked the floating book.

"Of course." He replied, sounding smug as always. I suppose I should re-introduce myself for any newcomers who happen to drop by, since this is a separate entry after all. I'm Kazuto Takeba. I'm what is known as an Intoner, and I'm one of the last, alongside my sister. I came to Iwatodai about a year prior, and I was caught up in a battle for our very lives. I discovered much about myself, my past, my family. And now it was the day before the final battle. I'll admit, I was a little nervous; but more than that, I was ready. Someone precious was taken from me by the Shadowlord, and I would do whatever it takes to get her back. That wasn't the only thing he took from me… That wasn't important compared to her though.

"Hey! Hurry up! It's rude to keep your _girlfriend_ waiting!" Yukari's voice shouted from downstairs with a teasing tone. My face turned a light shade of red.

"Sh-Shut up! I'll be there in a sec!" I yelled back, feeling embarrassed. There was one more thing I wanted to grab before we left though. I opened the top drawer and pulled out a small velvet box. I didn't know if we were going to make it through the Promised Day alive; certainly not in one piece… So I wanted to give that to Aigis that night. I spent hours trying to figure it out. Trying to pick out the perfect gift. Money was no problem to me at that point, though I certainly spent a lot on that… A-Anyway, I smiled while running a finger over the top of the box before pocketing it. I met up with the others downstairs before setting out for Tartarus. I noticed that everyone was wearing more casual clothing that night. Aigis even wore the sundress she had when we first met. Maybe it was because we might have died the following day, but I was noticing just how beautiful the night sky was. Many stars were shining brightly in the sky like many lights. I heard soft singing coming from beside me; I didn't need to look to see who it was. I knew exactly what song Aigis was happily singing the words to. It was our favourite song from the dance after all: _'__Mamoritai ~White Wishes~_', performed by a good friend of ours.

"_I believe your love, I believe in our love. No matter what I know our aim is true. Every step we take, our love will grow stronger. I wish that two hearts could be one...__"_

I left her alone to sing. If she knew I was listening, she would just get embarrassed. Even though she has a lovely singing voice. We got to Tartarus and entered the colossal tower. Right then and there, I noticed that something was just _off_. I knew something was wrong, just from the way the atmosphere felt.

"Something just seems wrong here." I said, looking around a little.

"So I wasn't the only one who noticed it then." Yukari responded, looking around also.

"Do you think we're in danger?" Mitsuru asked cautiously.

"Could be." I told her, "Wouldn't be the first time something ambushed us here." I scanned the front hall; knowing the room well enough that I can spot anything that's out of place. It took only a few seconds to find what was bothering me.

"Was that door there the last time we were here?" I asked, pointing to said door that stood tall next to the stairway. It was white with golden handles.

"No, it wasn't." Aigis answered, now on guard. I looked at the door before walking towards it.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Shinji asked, "We don't know what's behind it."

"That's why I'm checking." I replied, placing a hand on the handle and looking back at the others, "I'll only take a peek." I froze up when I tried to push down the handle to open the door. The door gave off a foreboding atmosphere that made me more than a little nervous.

(…What am I so afraid of? It's just a door.)

Steeling myself for what might be behind it, I pulled down on the handle. I didn't see what was inside, as a bright light engulfed the entire front hall. Before I could question what was going on, I fell unconscious.

~Shadows of the Heart~

(…Ugh… Teleportation without a Traesto Gem; that's a killer.)

I pushed myself off the floor, and looked around. The floors and walls were metallic; it almost looked like I was in some sort of warehouse complex, but the corridor I was in stretched on past my field of vision.

(Okay, definitely not inside Tartarus.)

"Are you guys alright?" I asked out loud, and got a response quickly.

"_**We're alright."**_

"Good." I looked down at my left arm, "What about you, Burroughs?"

"I'm okay." She said, popping out in front of me on a holographic screen, "I don't know where we are though. It's definitely not Tartarus."

"Can you scan the area? And also, open a link with Fuuka."

"I've tried, Kazuto, but I haven't gotten a response. Something is interfering with my sensors so it'll take time to do a complete scan."

"…Well, I guess I'm walking." I summoned Crimson Rose and started to walk down the corridor, moving my hair so it wasn't getting caught by the eye-patch.

"_**You don't think you should wait for a response from the others?"**_

"If I can get through the entire Labyrinth solo, I can handle something as simple as this." I said, peering around a corner to make sure it was safe before continuing. I walked through the metal corridors, the floor making plenty of sound as I did so. I saw absolutely nothing though: No Shadows, demons, nothing. I would feel like I'm making some progress if I killed something.

(For the love of Goddess, this is getting me nowhere.)

"Any luck, Burroughs?" I asked, still on my guard.

"No. I'm making progress on scanning the area but communications are still down."

"Oh, fantastic." I say sarcastically before letting out a sigh, "Well, I suppose I could- -" I fell silent as I heard faint footsteps coming from the corridor to my right. Keeping a firm grip of my weapon, I rushed down the corridor. I ran down it recklessly until I ended up crashing into something… Or rather, some_one_, as I turned the corner.

"Whoa!"  
"Ow!"

I ended up staggering back and only avoided falling thanks to the wall that was behind me.

(Ow... That's one way to find someone, I suppose.)

I took a look at the person I accidentally knocked over. It was a girl; probably around my age, long silver hair and eyes, she wore school uniform, which I recognised as the one from Yasogami High School. She also wore a yellow scarf that reminded me of someone I knew.

(It kinda looks like… No, I shouldn't think about that.)

I also noticed that a book was lying beside her, probably dropped from her hands when we ran into each other.

(So I'm not the only one stuck here, huh?)

"Sorry about that." I addressed the girl who was rubbing her head, and walked over to her. She looked up at me as I stretched out my hand.

"I'm Kazuto." I introduced myself as she took hold of my hand and I helped her up onto her feet. She reached down and grabbed the book she dropped and then looked back at me.

"I'm Yuka."

* * *

Author's Note

And so it begins. A story that will be very fun to write and hopefully fun to read. In case you are unaware, or are reading one of my stories for the first time, I will explain. I am writing a crossover fic with a good friend of mine, _AshCoveredWarrior. _This adaptation of Persona Q crosses over his fic, _The Alternity Paradox_ with my own, along with _Persona 4 – Book of Souls_ and the unofficially announced Persona 4 fic that takes place after my Persona 3 story, _Spring of Hope_. I certainly hope I don't disappoint, because I have big plans for this one. I hope you've enjoyed this, and if you do; review to let me know what you think. I hope to see you for the next chapter and I hope you have a fantastic day.


	2. Chapter 1

Persona Q – Shadows of the Heart

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Chapter 1  
The Unstoppable Boar

With the woman called Yuka walking beside me, we walked down the labyrinthine corridors that stood before us. Yuka was certainly a… quiet one. I had a feeling it was because she was extremely worried at that moment. I had trouble striking up a conversation with her because we were both on edge, looking around for any monsters that may be lurking. My eye eventually caught sight of the book in her hands. I snuck a peek at the title and saw that it was called _Grimoire Animus_. Seeing the familiar word reminded me of Weiss, which made me chuckle a little.

"What's so funny?" Yuka asked nervously, clearly still weary of what's around her. I pointed at the book with a soft smile.

"That book." I said, "It's called Grimoire Animus?" I continued when I saw her nod her head, "It reminds me of a friend of mine. Damn book could never keep his mouth shut. Always had some smartass comment about something; not to mention he's arrogant as all hell… Still, he's fun to be with, and he's an excellent partner. Don't tell him I said that though, I'll never hear the end of it."

The calm way I spoke managed to get Yuka to relax a little, though what I said did make her look at me strangely.

"You're a weird fellow, aren't you?" She asked with a smile of her own. I looked straight down the corridor as I responded.

"Ah, what's normal but a matter of perspective?" I asked in kind, "Say you saw a hobo who likes to rub bananas on his feet. To everyone else, that would be extremely strange. To him however, it would be as normal as night and day."

"That is something that doesn't normally come up in everyday conversation." She pointed out which made us both laugh.

"It's why everyone keeps me around. Stuff like this." I said jokingly, looking back at her. My smile faltered a little when I saw her looking a little gloomy, "Is something wrong?"

"…You sound like an old friend of mine." She said, "Your voices are practically identical."

"Well, there're six billion people on this planet. Bound to run into someone with a similar voice sooner or later." I rubbed the back of my neck with my right arm, "So, what's your friend like?" The look on her face told me everything, "…I'm sorry."

"There's nothing you could have done." She said bitterly. I wondered what could have happened, but I knew it wasn't any of my business. A sudden beep from Burroughs caught my attention, and her hologram appeared in front of us.

"You got something?" I asked her, ignoring Yuka's surprised yelp.

"Yes. There are a huge gathering of people in the large room to the south. Have a look." She pulled up the completed map of the area we were in. I could see that Yuka and I were quite a ways away while there were a large number of dots in the room to the south, like she said.

"Counting us, there are around thirty five people here." I told Yuka, who looked over the map curiously, "You think anybody you know could be there?"

"Yeah, I know so." She said confidently, sounding a little relieved, "Let's move."

We started following the map Burroughs produced, which Yuka kept glancing back and forth from.

"That's a pretty advanced piece of tech you have there." She said, sounding impressed. I looked down at my left arm in such a way that she wouldn't notice.

"Yeah, Burroughs has helped me out more times than I can count." I told her, smiling a little before noticing the look Yuka was giving me, "What? Is there something on my face?"

"…I can't help but notice." She started, staring right at me, "Your eye patch. It covers half your face… What happened?"

"Oh, there's a story behind that." I told her cheerfully, contrary to what she probably thought happened, "It's because- -" My sentence was cut off by the sound of large, imposing footsteps. We both stopped in our tracks and looked around. I kneeled down, placed my right hand on the ground and closed my eye. Feeling the vibrations from its footsteps coming from behind us, I grabbed Yuka's hand with my right one and dragged her around the corner of the corridor beside us.

"Hey, what are you- -!?"

"Quiet!" I cut her off with a whispered yell as we listened carefully. The footsteps were slow and deliberate. Whatever it was moved with a sense of purpose and it was more than likely coming to kill us.

"Do you have a weapon?" I asked her quietly.

"I do, but my friends have it." She said just as softly.

"Wonderful." I whispered sarcastically and carefully peeked around the corner. I managed to catch a glimpse of what was there: a huge black boar like creature with plenty of armour protecting it.

(Getting through that armour should be simple enough, but…)

"What about that book?" I asked Yuka once I got back out of sight. Her response wasn't exactly the best kind of news.

"Not enough room." She told me, "I'm more than likely to get us both killed using it. I can search for skills that would be safer to use here but we don't have a lot of time"

"…If it was just me, I would gladly go out and kill it, but with you around… You'll just get caught in the crossfire." I leaned against the wall as I try to think of a quick solution to our problem, "Burroughs. Make a copy of the map." I ordered the A.I. She did so quietly and I made it follow Yuka, "Use this map and make a break for that room. Don't let anything stop you. I'll keep this thing off your back."

"Will you be alright?" Yuka said worriedly, to which I gave her a confident smirk.

"What, that thing? I've taken down bigger and uglier than that waste of skin." I summoned my dual blades to my hands, "Now go!" I watched as she ran off until she disappeared from my sight. My smirk stayed on my face as I turned the corner.

"**So what are you thinking?"**

"Hmm…" I let out as I examined the creature from afar, "Difficult to say. I'll see what I can do damage wise before I consider my options." With that, I ran towards it. It saw me just a second too late; I used the blades in my hands to attack the armour. I heard the scraping of metal against metal and I used the momentum while skidding across the ground to turn myself around to face the creature again. The swords did absolutely nadda to the creature's armour. Which left me with one option.

"**Time to bring out the hammer?"**

"Yup. Time to bring out the boom-boom." I de-summoned my blades and summoned the hammer I possessed to my hand. The boar turned around to face me; it was slow, which meant I had a huge advantage over it in terms of speed. I took full advantage of that to strike it first, "Boop!" I shout joyfully as I hit its stupid face with my huge hammer, "Boop-boop, boop, boop!" I continued to hit it, chipping off pieces of its armour, until I gave it one last strike, sending it sailing through the corridor and making it crash into the wall. With its armour gone, I brought back my dual blades and ran towards it. Plunging them deep into its body, I made the blades slide through its body until a deep horizontal slice could be seen on it. It collapsed with one last screech. Sure that it was dead, I allowed myself to relax and let out a laugh.

"Oh that was fun." I said out loud, making the blades disappear.

"**Should we proceed then?"**

"Yeah, we should." I started walking down the corridor, following the map Burroughs brought up until I heard a loud screech, making me stop.

(What the- -!?)

I turned back around and saw that the boar was back on its feet. An impossible feat considering what I did to it. What it did next was cause for concern. It tensed up and a green gas started to fill the air. I could only assume that the gas was poisonous and immediately covered my mouth.

"Goddess, what is that?" I said, my voice muffled.

"**Retreat?"**

"Yeah, we should." I said, panicking a little, and turned tail and ran down the corridor. Using the map that was provided to me, I ran as fast as I could. Turning the second to last corridor, I saw that several strange creatures blocked my path. They kinda looked like Shadows, but they had yellow rune like symbols floating around their bodies. Regardless of what they were, I wanted to kill them.

"Bad mistake." I said, summoning the dual blades once more and, without even stopping, I cut through these creatures. The amount of blood that spilled out of them was ridiculous, but I wasn't complaining. It covered my clothes, though it was difficult to see due to them being black, and some blood landed on my face and got in my hair. Without breaking my stride, I continued to run. Turning the last corner according to the map, I saw a large double-set door blocking my path. Having a quick glance at the map, I saw that none of the dots were blocking the doorway itself. With this in mind, I summoned my hammer and put most of my strength into throwing it.

"Knock knock!" I yelled as the hammer flew through the air and crashed into the door, forcing it open. The act of throwing the hammer itself slowed me down a little, which cost me. I also made the mistake of looking back; I saw that the boar was gaining speed and was right near me. I realised then that it was going to ram into me, "Oh no!" I let out as the boar's head slammed into my back, hard. I went soaring through the air and I instinctually adjusted myself, summoning my dual blades in the meanwhile, and slammed them into the ground, slowing myself down while landing on my feet. I watched the boar step into the room, and then I started to worry big time.

(Shit! If it uses its gas in here…! I need to get it out of this room!)

Seeing that I had no choice, I looked down at my bare right hand. I saw the red aura that surrounded my body, signalling to me that I had _just_ enough blood to use the full extent of my Intoner abilities. Letting an excited smile appear on my features, I stood up. Making my swords disappear, I let loose with an ear-piercing scream; outstretching my arms diagonally and my head facing towards the ceiling, activating Intoner Mode as I like to call it. With my body encased in a white aura, I looked upon my prey with an utterly sadistic smile.

"**Time to die!"**

I teleported to the boar and started to wail on it using the claws. It was completely defenceless as I slashed it. It didn't do anything as I launched it into the air and continued to attack it. I grabbed it by the head and threw it into the ground, making a large crack in the floor. I followed after it, using my wings that appear when I command it, and smashed into the boar. I gave it a few punches and slashes before I grabbed it by the head once more, and threw it into the wall behind me.

"Come on! We have to help him!" I hear Yuka cry out as she and her group charged past me. I exited out of Intoner Mode and looked at the charging group.

"What are you doing!?" I yelled, "Get away from it! You'll be killed!" I watched as Yuka and the others summoned what appear to be cards. Though Yuka used her book, Grimoire Animus, to use the card.

"Persona!" They all cry out as they smashed the cards.

(Persona!?)

Fire, ice, wind, electricity, almighty. All of these elements crashed into the boar along with a helping of physical attacks. It did nothing; the boar simply shook it off.

"What!? This shithead's not dead!?" I hear the blonde haired guy with the jacket hanging over his shoulders yell with anger.

"Out of the way!" I hear Yukari's voice yell as I watched her charge in from the left hand side. Summoning the bow she uses and transforming it into a set of gauntlets on her arms, she began to punch the boar. Using Isis's wind powers, she damaged the boar significantly, though I knew it wasn't enough to kill it. She punched the boar, making it fly towards me. Seeing her intentions, I jumped high; just high enough so my feet could touch it, and I pushed down, making it crash into the floor again.

"Persona!" I hear another male voice cry out. I looked in that direction and got quite the shock.

(What…? But they- - What?)

It was a duplicate of Yuka's group, the only differences being the clothes they wore – more suitable for winter, I notice – and whom I presumed to be their leader. He had pale skin; short bowl-shaped grey hair with matching grey eyes and was quite tall. I estimated that he was around ten centimetres taller than I was. His group ran in after I had gotten out of the way. They focused on physical attacks; a sword, a shield – a weird choice of weapon – kunai, claws, a fan – another weird choice – a gun, and I saw one of them use martial arts, which was kind of awesome. Their combined assault still wasn't enough to take down the beast. Seeing that it was futile, the leader of their group ordered them to get back. The biggest shock though happened right after.

"Infernal Jack!"

***BANG!***

I looked around quickly in the direction of the gunshot and saw of a duplicate of MY group. Which was very surprising, not going to lie.

(But… how is this possible?)

I watched as the other S.E.E.S group pointed their Evokers at their head and summoned their Personas. The differences between them and my group were, again, the clothes they wore - They wore the Gekkoukan uniforms – and their leader. He was the same height as I and had a similar build, but in terms of looks that's where the similarities end. He had blue hair – which I completely question by the way. Seriously, blue hair? He also had blue eyes. They ordered their Personas to strike the beast with their strongest attacks, but it did nothing to it.

(Can nothing kill this thing!?)

Seeing the eventual danger that would arise when the beast collapses, I call out to everyone in the room.

"We need to get it out of this room, now!" I yell as I summoned my hammer to my hand. The _Kung-Fu Girl_ as I'll call her for now from Yuka's group ran forward and gave it a strong kick accompanied with a yell. It wasn't enough to get it out of the room so I took matters into my own hands. I slammed my hammer down, hitting the boar and making it stop. I then spun around, building up power as I did so and struck the beast in the face. That made it careen out of the room and hit the wall at the end of the corridor outside.

"Close the door!" I ordered as I ran towards it. The leaders of the other groups showed up to help along with Yuka. Two of us pushed on one door while the other two pushed on the other. In a matter of seconds, the doors were closed, and it was sealed off thanks to me summoning Beastlord and sliding it in between the handles, and we were safe for the time being. We all slid down against the door until we were sitting; exhausted from the battle.

"Is… Is that thing dead?" Yuka asked, sounding out of breath. I shook my head.

"No… The first time I killed it, it just regenerated itself. It produced this green gas when it got up… We were lucky it didn't do it in here otherwise you all might have died… Heheheh, that felt good. I've been meaning to cut loose for a while now." I stood up, followed by the other leaders.

I made to walk over to my group, but someone already beat me to the punch.

"Kazuto! Are you alright!?" Aigis asked worriedly when she crashed into me, enveloping me in a hug. I didn't hesitate to return it.

"I am now." I told her with a smile, "I'm glad you're safe." Our reunion was cut a little short as I noticed a thundercloud appearing above our heads.

(What the- -!?)

"Look out!" I told her right before it happened. We jumped out of the way of the Ziodyne spell, it striking the ground with a thunderous crash.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Friendly! Friendly!" I yelled out to whoever did that with my hands held out in a defensive pose.

"Thor! What the hell!?" The other S.E.E.S leader yelled at his Persona, who acted without orders.

"_**I'm sorry, Master, but that man is dangerous."**_ Thor said to him.

"Believe me; if I wanted to kill you you'd already be dead!"

"Thor."

"_**Yes, Master…"**_

The leader called off Thor, and gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what got into him." He told me; his voice identical to my own which I didn't notice until that point. I was shocked but I hid that very well.

"It's alright." I replied, "Now to get the big and obvious question out of the way." I turned to look at the other groups, "What the hell is going on here?"

"You tell us!" The Yukari from my group said, "We've been trying to get a hold of you forever now! Do you know how worried Aigis was!?"

I looked at her with a guilty look.

"Sorry… Something's been blocking communications for a while now. This place is just really strange… There is something I've been curious about since I saw this." I turned around and gave a short point of the finger to the other S.E.E.S leader. With a confused expression on his face, I walked up to him and gave him a once over.

"Hmm… Blue hair. That's pretty weird." I pointed out the blue hair, because it was blue.

"You're one to talk." He replied, almost completely deadpan.

"Hey, I was born like this!"

"So was I! And there is something _I_ have been curious about!" He announced to the others before giving me a suspicious glare, "What are you, exactly?"

"How do we know he isn't another Shadow!?" The Junpei from the other group asked.

"Like I said, if I wanted to kill you, you'd all be dead already; yes, that includes the children. I don't really discriminate." I told them and ignored their looks of shock and disbelief that I said that, "As for your question." I addressed the other S.E.E.S leader, "That's… a pretty long story."

"Save it." He said, sounding a little irritated, "After the shit I've went through, I can believe almost anything."

"No, I mean it." I said sincerely, "It is a pretty long story."

"…Your name is Kazuto, right?" He asked, dropping that point for the moment. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, it is. Is there a problem?"

"It's just… I've heard your name before." He murmured. I rubbed the back of my neck with my right hand.

"Well, we might as well get introductions out of the way." I said, walking back to my group, "I'm Kazuto. Kazuto Take… Um…" I looked at the Yukari in the other S.E.E.S group, not exactly sure as to how she was going to react when I say my name.

"What are you doing?" Mitsuru whispered to me.

"I don't know help me this is so awkward!" I told her, but I was cut off from saying any more by the other S.E.E.S leader.

"Your name is Kazuto Takeba, isn't it?" He asked, to the surprise of Yuka and the other S.E.E.S group. I cringed as I felt all their eyes on me, the other Yukari's eyes in particular were staring at me, wide eyed and with shock.

"Hey, Yuka-tan, is he your brother or something?" The other Junpei asked, equally as surprised.

"No, he's _MY_ brother!" Yukari said… This is going to get confusing, really fast. I'll need to come up with nicknames.

"Can I have a little bit of hush, please?" I asked politely, and got the silence I requested. I then turned to look at the other S.E.E.S leader again, "So, you know my name. May I ask yours?"

"I'm Makoto."

"And that's _Yuki_, right? Makoto Yuki?" I asked, and got a nod of the head in response.

"Yeah. How did you know that?"

"You got me." I said, rubbing my neck again, "I don't really have a clue."

"Do you two know each other?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not… exactly." I responded, I looked at Yuka, who looked like she had seen a ghost. And the other leader who looked as though in deep thought, probably trying to figure out what was going on.

"Oh yeah, we haven't heard your name yet!" I said to the grey haired man, "And who might you be, sir?"

"I'm Yu Narukami." He said. Yuka's eyes widened and her mouth was agape with shock.

"What!?" She yelled with surprise. Which turned our attention towards her.

"…Yuka, what's your last name?" I asked her, having a good idea of what it could be.

"…Narukami." She replied. The gasps of shock from Yu's group were pretty much what I expected.

"Alright, I know things are a little strange here." I said before anyone else could get a word in. The last thing we need is panic, "Let's just take a rest and try to calm down."

"Strange is an understatement." Makoto said all snarky like, "But he's right. Actually, I think there's something you should see. Who has the briefcase!?" He called out to everyone.

"I do!" Akihiko from Makoto's group called out, and walked towards us.

"We took a look inside." Makoto explained, "It was a lot of medical documents."

"Medical documents?"

"Yeah. None of us here know much about medicine. Maybe you can make some sense out of it?"

"Maybe… I'm not exactly a doctor either – well, my mother was, she was classified as a scientist but she was actually a doctor; she taught me the basics and I kinda studied up on stuff from there."

Akihiko gave me the briefcase and I took a look inside it.

"Hmm… MRI scans, X-Ray scans, Echocardiogram results... I'll take a look at the MRI's first." I separated the pictures into three pictures and started to look them over. The first few pictures seemed normal; nothing out of the ordinary. The fourth picture was where I started to notice that something was wrong. Deathly wrong.

"What!?" I said, surprised and shock laced my tone, "This shadowing…!" That got the others attention and made them gather around. They all saw what I saw. The light shadowing that covered the patients left lung. None but I knew what this was.

"Wait, I've seen something like this before… Burroughs, do an immediate search for matching cases!"

"You got it." Burroughs said, her hologram popping up once again, "One moment please." It only took her a few seconds, "One case match. It's a patient diagnosed with an illness similar to Kaposi's sarcoma at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital."

"If I recall… The patient went through drastic condition changes one after another." I said to myself, "Don't tell me this patient's also… Dammit, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Are we safe here?" Mitsuru asked, but I didn't give her a proper answer, because I honestly didn't know.

"…Anyways, there's nothing we can do right now." I said, "We should focus on getting out of here. Burruoghs, how long do you think it'll take to scan the entire building?"

"Twenty minutes, give or take." She responded. I nodded in approval.

"Good. Get on it." I dismissed the hologram and took a look around the room. Worried looks, suspicious looks, scared looks and stoic looks surrounded me and I wondered just what was going on. I kept thinking about the MRI scan and how much trouble we could be in.

(I have a _really_ bad feeling about this…)


	3. Chapter 2

Persona Q - Shadows of the Heart

* * *

Chapter 2  
Divine Decree ~ Paradox ~

I looked over the rest of the files that were given to me by Makoto and his group. All the scans and results all point toward the patient having _that _disease.

(What does this mean? Of all the times for this to appear, why now?)

I snuck a glance at the other groups.

(And are we really safe?)

They were talking amongst themselves; the topic of discussion mostly about our current situation. Though I did feel their eyes glancing at me from time to time. I didn't blame them. I had no choice but to go into Intoner Mode, and that is usually shocking the first time someone sees it.

(I'm going to have to explain to them what I am eventually… And about my name.)

I could tell that the Yukari from the other S.E.E.S group was looking at me. I tried my best to ignore it, as I just felt really awkward about all this. Many questions swam through my mind. Mostly about their leader.

(Makoto Yuki. Why do I know that name…? It sounds really familiar.)

I stood up, thinking I've gotten all the info I could from those documents. I moved my right shoulder a little to get rid of the stiffness. I stopped though when I heard a soft, timid voice.

"Kazuto?"

I froze on the spot; surprised from hearing said voice. I was even more surprised at whom the voice belonged to.

"Wait a second, I know that voice." I said slowly, "Rise? Is that you- - Oof!" My question was cut off by someone jumping onto me and giving me a hug.

"I can't believe you're here!" Rise Kujikawa yelled with joy, while simultaneously squeezing all the breath out of my body.

"Agh…! Can't… breathe…!" She immediately let go and took a step back.

"Sorry." She said before looking up at me with a smile, "What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you that." I countered once I had gotten some air back in my lungs, "What are you doing here?"

"Whoa, wait a moment here, Rise-chan!" The brown haired male with the kunai yelled, "You know this guy?"

"Yeah!" Rise looked back at him and nodded, "I met him when I was in Iwatodai for a concert, in the music store. He stopped a bunch of robbers."

"They were harassing you and they spilled my drink." I said, shrugging my shoulders, "I wasn't going to stand for that…" I took in Rise's appearance; she had gotten taller since the last time I saw her and she had let her hair grow out a little. She had grown into a fine woman, "You've gotten older."

"And you haven't aged a day." Rise stated, which made me tilt my head a little, "Three years and you haven't changed a bit.

(Wait a second…)

"Three years?" I asked, sounding really confused, "It's only been a few months for me." My declaration made everyone start murmuring to themselves, trying to make sense of this confusing situation. I, myself, was no exception to this.

"This whole thing is just one big giant ball of confusion and weirdness." I sighed and shook my head, making my hair move around a little, "Seriously, even I can't- -" I was interrupted by Rise's gasp of shock, and I realised, too little too late, what my mistake was.

"Y-Your eye…!" Rise yelped, pointing a shaky finger at the eye patch, "What happened!?"

"Oh…" My hair had kept the eye patch obscured from the other groups; aside from my group and Yuka, no one else noticed it somehow. Probably because of what was going on at that moment. With that little movement and Rise's worried yell however, everyone was now aware of it. Letting out a sigh at being found out, I moved my hair out of the way so it was clearly visible to everyone, "I didn't lose my eye. It's just… circumstances that forced me to wear this."

"What kind of circumstances?" Makoto asked, suspicion clear in his expression. I gave him a blank look, hiding what emotion I could.

"Unfortunate. Let's leave it at that. Maybe she'll introduce herself to you at some point, but she's really shy, so don't expect too much for now." I started to walk toward the back wall, hoping to take a seat but a familiar voice stopped me.

"Your arm is not human."

I froze up when I heard Aigis – The other Aigis – call me out on this fact. She continued on, not noticing my reaction.

"I detect no heat emanating from your left arm. Your body chemistry is already abnormal but there is nothing where your left arm is. I have to conclude that it is fake."

"…Of course, you'd be the one to notice it." I looked back at her with a soft smile, "Why wouldn't you? You and your cheatsy-doodle scanners."

"What does she mean by that?" Yuka asked, slightly worried now, "Kaz… What's wrong with your arm?"

I didn't pay any mind to her shortening my name; though it was weird to hear someone I didn't know that well at the time call me that. Turning around so everyone could see me, and the smile disappearing from my lips, I held up my left arm and rolled back the sleeve. Everyone's reactions served as a reminder of what I had lost that day. Their wide-eyed looks and gasps of shock remind me of when it actually happened.

"…My arm is fake, yes." I explained to everyone with an even tone, "It was sliced off, and in its place I got… this metal one." I looked at it; this arm, full of complex machinery and coloured black, and moved its fingers; listening as it made soft metallic noises. A constant reminder of my failure to protect her.

"When did this happen?" The other Mitsuru asked stoically, though I could see she was unnerved. Though I wouldn't learn the reason why that was until later.

"…November 4th." A simple answer to a simple question: When did I lose my arm? That date seemed to have struck a chord with Makoto's group and Yuka though. Makoto, in particular, looked absolutely livid.

"…Damn that Ikutsuki." I heard him growl. Hearing that caught me off guard a little.

(Wait, what?)

"The Chairman?" I asked, with my eyebrow raised a little, "What's Ikutsuki-san got to do with this?" I continued on despite their surprised looks, "The Shadowlord was the one who did this to me… Him and Grimoire Noir." I spat out with unbridled rage. I reined it in, however, as it wouldn't do anybody any good if I was letting my anger control my words and actions. I noticed then how Makoto and his S.E.E.S group were looking at me.

"…What…?" I asked, feeling a little nervous, "Did I say something wrong?" I had a gut feeling that something was a little weird about Makoto's group and did a quick head count, "Hold on a sec, you're one short. Where's the Shinji of your group? Wait, don't tell me, he's asleep in your dorm, right? The lazy git. I had to wake this guy up personally a couple of times; the last time, I had to use my hammer." I pointed and chuckled at said Shinji.

"You're paying for that door, by the way." He said in his usual sarcastic way, though I could detect a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Ah, it was only a little hole." I countered with a smile.

"Little by your standards, maybe."

I turned back to look at Makoto and his group and, judging by their crestfallen expressions, realised that something was wrong.

(Why do I feel as though I've stepped on a land mine?)

As quickly as I had asked that question in my mind did I realise yet another difference between their group and ours: The events that took place.

(Oh no… Don't tell me that…)

"…Let me guess… October 4th, right?" I asked the group, taking note of the looks on their faces. Sad, but determined; a look that suited them well. I should know this, because I had seen those looks on my friends faces the day after Ryoji left. They had accepted what had happened but were willing to carry on fighting. Even though I knew this, I couldn't help but stutter out an apology, "I-I'm sorry! I sometimes speak without thinking and- -"

"It's fine." The other Akihiko said, "He would tell us that we were being idiots if we started to mope around instead of fighting."

"…Heh." I turned my head to look at Shinji, "That does sound like something you would say, doesn't it?" I asked. He didn't seem all that shocked that from where they come from, he's actually dead. Being around me must have helped him develop a resistance to strange stuff such as this.

"I would probably be vocal about it if it was you moping around." Shinji said to me, allowing a smirk to appear on his features. I could tell that everyone had questions about all this. We all did. My priority though was to try to think of a way to get out of that place. If we couldn't co-operate, at least until we got out of there, we would all probably die. With that in mind, I looked around for someone in particular.

"Rise!" I called out for her, and the Rise from both Yu and Yuka's group turned to look at me, "Uh, the Rise that I know!" I amended my sentence, and saw the Rise from Yu's group wave at me, "You haven't introduced us to your friends yet." I looked at Yuka's group and flashed a smile, "The good thing about meeting multiple versions of the same people is that you only have to introduce yourselves once. Unless that version is a guy, or a girl, or an alien, or a… I don't know." I shrugged my shoulders and walked over to where Yu's group was, "Hello!" I sang while giving a short wave, "I know who those guys are." I moved my head to indicate Makoto's group, "And I know Rise, but I don't know any of your names. So how about we introduce ourselves. Starting with you!" I pointed at one person in particular. I refrained from speaking about him until this point because I knew I would probably go on and on about it. Now though, I could speak freely about this… Bear. This blue furred, red and white jumpsuit wearing, big eyed… Bear.

"…Who are you?" I asked curiously. The bear was more than happy to answer.

"Teddie!" He said with such joy and enthusiasm, I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh, figures." I said, before I looked at the others, "Of course, I know who _Yu_ are." I pointed at Mr. Narukami over there and smiled at the groans at the others.

"Oh, I haven't heard that one before." Yu said, completely deadpan.

(Oh, looks like we got ourselves a bunch of snarky people here. Good; I can have fun with this.)

"Well, get used to it." I told him, "I've got a whole bunch of puns from _Yu-r_ name alone." I will not apologise for that one, "Anyway, who else do we- -" I was interrupted _once again_ by a short snort. I looked around, "What was that?" I asked everyone.

"Did someone fart?" Yukari the Sister asked, and I held up my hands defensively.

"Wasn't me!" I called out. That's when the snorts got a little louder and our attentions were drawn to Yu's group. I heard the _Kung-Fu Girl _of the group sigh.

"C'mon Yukiko, that was just as bad as Teddie's puns." She told the laughing girl.

"Hold the phone!" I said, recognising the name, "Yukiko? As in, Yukiko Amagi?" That got her attention. Yukiko, like Rise, had grown a lot in the past three years; having replaced her black seifuku outfit for the Yasogami uniform, along with a red sweater black opaque pantyhose, and I wasn't shy in expressing my surprise, "Goodness, you've grown a bit in the past three years."

"…I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Yukiko asked. I looked at her with shock until I realised the obvious.

"Oh right, you've probably forgotten me." I said, "Three years back, students from Gekkoukan High School's Tennis team went to Inaba on a fellowship. We talked before we left and I told you that- -"

"I was going to be fantastic." Yukiko recited, a small smile on her face, "Absolutely fantastic."

"So you do remember me?" I asked, a smile on my face also.

"I do now." She nodded, "I can now put a name to the face. Kazuto Takeba."

"Oh yeah, you did mention someone that you met soon after what he's talking about." The _Kung-Fu Girl_ said, tapping her chin, "You couldn't stop laughing at some joke he made."

(Oh yeah, I did make a very stupid joke… What was it again?)

A sinister grin appeared on my features as I remembered what it was. So did Yukari from the sound of things.

"Bro, I know what you're thinking; don't do- -" Yukari was, fortunately, one step too short as I interrupted her.

"Knock knock." I said to Yukiko, who responded after a few seconds. The signs of recognition and amusement already evident.

"Who's there?"

"Interrupting cat."

"Interrupting cat wh- -"

"_Meowwwwwww!_"

It didn't take long – merely a second – before Yukiko dissolved into a fit of giggles; filling the room with her unique laugh. She wasn't alone in her laughter though, as the Yukiko from Yuka's group started to laugh as well, much to their dismay.

"Oh great! Now you've got her started!" The _Kung-Fu Girl _from Yuka's group yelled, "Now they won't shut up!"

I merely chuckled at their plight.

"I think I shall call them… Team Hyena!" I said jokingly. That only seemed to make them laugh even harder though. While they laughed, I turned to look at the _Kung-Fu Girl_.

"You seem to know her well." I said, moving my head to indicate the laughing Yukiko. The girl sighed.

"Yeah. The hyena over there is my best friend." She held out an arm to me, "I'm Chie Satonaka. It's nice to meet you." I took a hold of Chie's hand in my own. She had light brown, bowl shaped hair and brown eyes. She wore a dark green leather jacket with a bunch of badges on it. Underneath it was another dark jacket. She wore a black mini skirt and used greaves as her weapons of choice.

"Likewise." I replied, "Those martial arts moves; that was Jeet Kune Do, wasn't it? Self-taught as well."

"Yeah. How could you tell?" She asked curiously.

"It lacks the precision." I told her, and before she could glare at me, I continued to speak, "If you get the instruction of a proper master though, you'd be a force to be reckoned with."

"She already is." The brown haired male with the kunai said, sounding like he was in pain just from mentioning this, "My constantly crushed nads are proof of that."

"And who are you?" As quick as a bullet, I turned and spoke to the male.

"Oh, I'm Yosuke Hanamura." Yosuke said. He had slightly unkempt fawn coloured hair, and brown eyes. He wore a sky blue pullover jacket underneath his school uniform, "Man, when I woke up this morning, _this_ was the last thing I was expecting."

"Yeah, I bet." I chuckled along with him before turning to the blonde haired man with the shield.

"I'm Kanji Tatsumi." He introduced himself without any prompting. Kanji had a bleached-blonde sweptback crew-cut, grey eyes, and a scar above his left eye. He had many piercings, metal jewellery and wore a black sweater with a skull-and-crossbones design underneath his school uniform, "That was some freaky shit you did back there."

"Yeah, I know." I said sheepishly, giving him a nervous smile, "I'll explain that to everyone as soon as we get out of here, I promise." I called out to everyone before moving on to the last, and shortest, member of Yu and Yuka's team; I'm assuming they're the shortest, in any case.

"Hmm…" I looked over this person, and found myself a little confused, "Can't tell if you're a boy or girl… I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you're a girl?"

The girl nodded her head.

"Good guess. I'm Naoto Shirogane." Naoto said. Naoto was very androgynous in appearance, contributing to my earlier confusion. She had short blue hair, which was slightly obscured by the blue cap she wore, and grey eyes.

"Seriously? Blue hair? Is this seriously what's hip nowadays?" I asked Makoto with some hint of amusement.

"...Why are you so surprised?" Makoto asked, giving me a look that said _'Really?'_.

"What do you mean?" I fired back, tilting my head a little.

"...You _do_ realise both of our Fuuka's have green hair, don't you?" He pointed out.

"...Well, yeah but- -" I try to speak, but Makoto wasn't done there.

"Akihiko, Yuka and Yu all have silver hair."

"Okay, fine, I get it- -"

"Mitsuru-senpei has hair redder than a tomato."

"Dude, come on. I told you I- -"

"And to top it all off, _you_ have white hair."

"I get it!" I yelled, "We all have weird hair! Just- - I get it." I couldn't help but laugh. I've _never_ seen someone get so hung up on hair colour before... A bit hypocritical, I know, "I just thought your blue hair was a bit weird, okay?"

"What's weird is that the hair _you've_ got makes you look like you're sixty." He responded with much sarcasm. I didn't take the potshot at my hair very well.

"HEY!" I yelled, a little annoyed at the choice of words he used, "I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT TO MY FACE- -!" I stopped speaking to let out a cough. A violent cough that forced me to lean against a wall to stop my from falling over. The noise grabbed everyone's attentions and they rushed over to check on me. I held out a hand, trying to stop them from getting any closer.

"I'm alright!" I said as I let out another cough, "This is perfectly norm- -!" I coughed yet again, this one more violent than the last. I had to clamp my right hand over my mouth, only pulling it away when I knew for certain that my body had calmed down. I looked down at my human hand and saw blood on it; evidence of my coughing fit. I felt a cool hand rest gently on my shoulder, and turned to see Aigis giving me a worried look, "I'm OK." I say softly, "You don't have to worry."

"I know." She said, "I can't help but worry though." We looked at each other for a few moments before I spoke up.

"Just... Just let me catch my breath." I said to the others before letting myself slide down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. I breathed in and out, trying to get my strength back.

"Are... Are you sure you should be fighting?" Yuka asked, sounding concerned but I gave her a dismissive wave.

"This is actually a rare occurrence nowadays." I told her, "You should have seen me a few months ago. Good Goddess, there was a lot of blood!" I said with a bright smile on my face, "I couldn't even use the hot springs when we were in Kyoto."

"I don't think we needed to know that." Makoto said, more than a little bluntly. A few short beeps coming from my mechanical arm drew my attention away from the others, and I watched as Burroughs appeared once more.

"Burroughs. What do you have?" I asked her.

"Scans show that you have three more floors before you reach the entrance. Take a look."

She pulled up the 3D map data she had constructed, and we all gathered around it.

"There is a Goddess on our side, and her name is Burroughs." I said to myself as I looked at the map, "Hmm... It seems like it's a straight line from here to the entrance." I informed everyone there, tracing a finger along the corridors leading to the stairwells. I frowned a little upon seeing one particular room, "I don't like the look of that room on the second floor though. Easy place to set up an ambush." I drew attention to the big room on said floor by pointing it out.

"Easy, and obvious." The Naoto from Yu's group said, "It would be more strategic to set up ambush points along these corridors."

"It's a straight line." I reminded her, "I don't think an ambush would work well in a corridor like that unless they're invisible. The element of surprise would be lost to them as soon as we enter."

"...So what do you recommend?" The Mitsuru from Makoto's group asked. I leaned my head back against the wall as I thought it through.

"I think... we should keep moving toward the entrance. There are too many variables right now to make an accurate prediction." That ended the planning, and all that was left was to wait for me to get ready. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to rest a little, but I didn't rest for long.

"Kazuto?" I opened my right eye to see who was calling for me, and saw the Akihiko from the other S.E.E.S group waving me over. I got up and walked carefully over to them.

"What's up?" I asked cheerfully.

"I wanted to ask you. October 4th; who was it that...?" He trailed off but I knew what he was asking, so I answered immediately.

"Oh, that was me." I told them, "I was the one who took the hit. Yukari over there went ballistic." I pointed at my sister, who glared at me; hearing that little comment.

"I did not!"

"I believe your exact words were: 'I'm going to kill you bastards!'" I chuckled, "You knew I wouldn't die from that! You knew I wouldn't die!"

Yukari simply gave a short huff of irritation and turned back around. I looked back at Makoto's group.

"Yeah, we got pretty lucky. I doubt we would have made it in time if it weren't for my trusted partner." When I said the word _partner_, I turned to my group, "Speaking of partners; where the hell's Weiss?" I asked them, "Wasn't he with you?"

"He was with us before we went through that door." Mitsuru told me, "We haven't seen him since we got here."

"Oh, brilliant." I said sarcastically, "Knowing my luck, he's going to fall right on my head." I _really _should have kept my mouth shut. As soon as I said that, I heard a low rumbling sound and looked up to see what it was. I saw a red portal hanging near the ceiling aiming down towards the floor and a soft sound was steadily getting louder. It sounded like a scream, but I wasn't sure if it was. The answers came quickly as a familiar book fell quickly towards us... And landed right on my head. For a while, there was nothing but silence. Eventually though, I spoke up.

"Okay... Ow." I said, without any emotion at all. Weiss got off my head and floated in front of me, "Next time; warn me before you fall out of a portal."

"I'm not the one who opened a random door." He countered with his usual brand of sarcasm. That sarcastic tone quickly turned to anger as Junpei of Makoto's group made the unfortunate mistake of saying this:

"Hey, who's the floating magazine?" He asked, surprised to see a floating, talking book. To be fair, everyone other than me and my group was surprised to see this.

"How dare you!?" Weiss yelled, while I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh, here we go." I mutter under my breath as Weiss quickly flew over to him.

"I am Grimoire Weiss! The most powerful magical tome in existence! You cannot begin to comprehend the vast- -!" I felt sorry for the poor guy, so I thought I would help him out a little.

"That's enough, Weiss." I scolded him, "We've got a bit of a problem here; in case you haven't noticed."

"I have." He said, floating back over to me, "I'm more concerned about Mikaeru right now."

"Oh crap!" I said in a panic, "Mikaeru! Mikaeru! C'mon, talk to me!" I received no response, "Come on, you dumb dragon! Answer me!" I mutter under my breath.

"...Kazuto?" I hear him say finally, and I let out the breath I was holding in.

"Thank goodness..." I said with much relief, "Are you safe? Where are you?"

"I'm outside." He told me with that childlike voice of his, "You should see it! It's beautiful out here! I don't quite know where I am but I like it!"

"Have you moved at all?"

"No, I haven't moved from this spot since I got here."

"Alright, stay there. We'll come and get you." I cut off the mental link with Mikaeru and looked at the others who were, justifiably maybe, giving me weird looks.

"Uh, who were you speaking to?" The Yukari from Makoto's group asked.

"My trusted partner, Mikaeru." I told them, "The one that Shinji here owes his life to."

Shinjiro grumbles just out of earshot; something about cooking up a huge plate of meat. Mikaeru certainly didn't complain about the free meal; especially one cooked by our finest chef. I had to giggle at that.

"Anyway, we should move on." I got up and made an extra three copies of the map; one for each leader and we all headed toward the back door. I stayed behind so I was the last one to leave the room. Before I closed the door behind me however, I reached out towards Beastlord and de-summoned it. As soon as I did that, I got the hell out of dodge and slammed the door shut.

~Shadows of the Heart~

We slowly made our way through the corridor; careful that we didn't run into any enemies along the way. I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been; my mind constantly wondering how _she_ was doing.

(Hamuko...)

"Something on your mind?" I shook my head when I heard the familiar voice and turned to look at her.

"It's nothing, Aigis." I said, though I could tell that she didn't buy that. I could hear some of the other groups speaking indistinctly, and I listened a little more closely.

"I told you, I'm fine." Yuka said to her Rise, "You worry too much sometimes, you know that?"

"I know... But after what- -"

"Yeah... I know." Yuka interrupted her, and I noticed that she was smiling a little. I focused on Yu's group now.

"You don't think he's a Shadow?" Yosuke asked Yu, who shook his head.

"No, I don't."

"But that freaky white shit he did!" Kanji said, "And that scream... That wasn't even human."

"Let's just ask him about it at the next stop." Yu simply said, "He seems like a pretty open guy. I don't think he has any reason to keep this hidden."

I ignored the fact that they were talking about me, and turned my attention to Makoto's group.

"I don't know." I heard their Aigis said, "He seems familiar, and yet he isn't... I can't explain why."

"I suppose it makes sense." Mitsuru responded, "That is, if what Yuki says is correct."

"Why don't I just go talk to him?" Makoto asked, "We don't really have much to lose."

"He just seems kinda... you know." Yukari said to him nervously.

"Hey, maybe I can find out more about that as well."

I quickly diverted my gaze and pretended that I wasn't listening in when I saw him slow his pace so he was walking beside me.

"You mind if I talk to you?" He asked me.

"Not at all." I said, giving him my full attention, "What's up?" It took him a while before he spoke again.

"...I know that you're thinking the same thing I am." He said. I immediately could tell what he was talking about, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah. I know that we're from different universes." I responded, "I've seen my fair share of alternate timelines, but I didn't think I would be seeing someone from a different universe."

"So you had trouble with some time travel bullshit as well? Figures... I don't mean to intrude on your personal life, but... Do you happen to know someone named Hamuko?"

I wasn't expecting him to ask me that, and the pained expression on my features was clearly visible, even with the eye patch on. Aigis was also affected by the question, her expression becoming more solemn. Makoto was taken aback by this change of emotion from the two of us.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- -"

"It's fine." I told him, "I'll need to talk about her at some point. Just... Not right now."

"...Okay." He said before clearing his throat, "What about this Shadowlord? What's he? The Lord of all Shadows or something like that?"

"Right on the money." I said, "He commands the other Shadows; he, along with Grimoire Noir... They took my arm, and someone important to me." This conversation was becoming too heavy, so who else but good old Junpei would come along and brighten it up a little.

"By the way." Junpei from Makoto's group interrupted us, "Can I have a look at your arm?"

"Eh?" I let out, "Why do you want to see it?"

"...Because it looks cool." He said after a moment. Sounding like a dork all the while.

(Heh, should have seen that one coming. It is Junpei after all; even in an alternate universe he's still a dork.)

"Sure, why not?" I said cheerfully, taking off my coat and handing it to Aigis, "Can you hold my coat for me?" She nodded in affirmation and I turned back to look at Junpei, I held out my left arm as we walked so Junpei could see it properly. I noticed after a while that Makoto was looking at the mechanical arm a little strangely.

"...I-Is it really that strange?" I asked nervously, feeling a little self-conscious; though I couldn't understand why I felt that.

"No! Not at all!" Makoto said a little too quickly, "It's... I can't imagine what it must feel like."

"I got used to it after a while." I said, "It isn't so bad; though I was puking up blood for a month because of this. Like I said, couldn't even use the hot springs in Kyoto."

"Hey." I heard Junpei call out, "Your last name is Takeba, right?"

"Yeah." I said slowly, wondering what he's thinking.

"So that makes you Yukari's brother, right?"

"Yeah, that's right." I nodded.

"So... Did you had to deal with any potential suitors?" I had to laugh out loud at that.

"Yeah, a few." I said sarcastically, "The last guys who tried to take advantage of her ended up with broken limbs. Though I'm sure she could have handled it herself, I did help out. I was compelled by my big brother instinct." My expression grew darker, "Anyone or anything that harms my sister will die. And nobody better be in my way." That significantly unnerved the two men beside me, not helped by the way my voice went back to it's cheerful tone, "Anyway, we should just keep- -" I felt something digging around in my right pocket suddenly and, without missing a beat, flicked that spot.

"OW!" I hear a feminine voice yell out and my good friend, Pixie, flew out of my pocket and hovered in front of me.

"I told you not to do that, Pixie." I scolded the female demon.

"Hey, I was curious!" She yelled before a mischievous smile appeared on her face, "I know what you're hiding though."

"Uh..." I suddenly felt really nervous.

(She wouldn't dare...! Would she?)

"Heheh, I won't tell. Be prepared for some teasing when you do it however." She told me before disappearing back to the safety of my soul. I looked around to see if anyone heard that properly, and I was lucky that only Makoto and Junpei heard what was said... At least, that's what I thought.

"What's she talking about?" Makoto asked me, looking at me with a hint of suspicion.

"I-It's nothing bad!" I stutter out, "It's just... Well, I..." I was _saved_, in the loosest sense of the word, when I heard a soft growing noise coming from behind me. Realising immediately what it was, I immediately summoned a small bottle with a clear liquid to my hand and smashed it against the floor. The effects were immediate; the enemies – the same ones I encountered when chased by that boar – looked around confused, as though it just lost its prey. In a sense, they have.

"What was that!?" Junpei yelled, and I had to shush him while the others looked on.

"Shh! Keep your voice down." I said normally, "Otherwise, the illusion will be broken." I summoned another bottle to my hand and showed it to everyone, "This is a Holy Bottle. It'll keep us cloaked from the enemy for a short period of time." I motioned everyone to gather around and they looked at what was there.

"What are they? They don't look like normal Shadows." Yuka said.

"Yeah. They also look different from the ones I fought. They're actually wearing armour and wielding weapons." I responded, seeing the metal plates they haphazardly threw together to shield them, and the swords they held in their hands.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that they're weak against Zio skills." The Rise from Yu's group said, "I can't scan them properly for some reason."

"Yeah, me neither." Fuuka informed us, though I couldn't tell which Fuuka it was. I assumed that both Fuuka's and both Rise's have trouble scanning them and thought it through.

"Hmm... Too close to make a call." I murmured, "We'll just need to hit it with our strongest Zio spells. Who's the electricity guys out of you lot?" I asked Yu and Yuka's groups.

"That would be us." Kanji said quietly.

"I can use Zio skills also." Naoto said, from the direction the voice came from, I guessed it was Yu's Naoto that said that.

"I assume that you, Yu and you know how to use Zio skills as well?" I asked the leaders. And received nods in return.

"What about you?" Makoto asked, but I shook my head.

"Nah, I would need to get up close and personal for me to use it normally. There is one other thing I can do, but I'll need Akihiko's help for this." At my call, the Akihiko in my group walked up and took position alongside us.

"Alright... On my count, Makoto, Yuka, Yu, Naoto, Akihiko and the Kanji's all hit them with your strongest Zio attack. Aki and I will need a little time to set up our attack so give us a minute." I summoned my dual pistols while I explained the plan. Makoto's reaction was one that I could only describe as jealously.

"Oh, so he gets to use guns but I don't!?"

"Oh quit your bitching." I said to him, as I see the effects of the Holy Bottle start to wear off, "That thing's not going to last much longer. You ready?" I asked everyone who gave me a nod. I waited... and waited... and waited, as the enemies gradually become more aware of our presence. When I knew they had seen us, I gave the order.

"Now!" I call out and I heard the smashing of glass and the gunshots of the Evokers. I watched as Ziodyne after Ziodyne piled on the unsuspecting foes. The plan worked almost perfectly. I say almost because there was one last enemy. Makoto rushed in to take care of it but that creature was prepared for it. It punched him with such force that it knocked him back to us. I didn't know what Persona he had equipped but it must have been weak to whatever that thing hit him with.

"Makoto!" I hear his Yukari call out with worry.

"Shit!" I said, "Weiss, put up a shield!"

He quickly got in front of the others and opened up, cycling through his near infinite number of pages and formed a shield, red as blood, around them. As for the creature, that's the one Aki and I took care of. We charged in; guns and Caeser at the ready. Akihiko ran ahead of me and punched it twice, the second shot sending it into the air. I ran past him as he got out of my way and I slid underneath the still airborne enemy and fired several rounds into it. I stood up quickly and back flipped over it, firing a couple more rounds into it making it fall to the ground. Aki ran up to me and we smiled.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Of course."

I pointed my pistols at the staggering enemy and Caesar poured Zio energy into the bullets themselves. When I felt there was enough, I pulled the triggers.

"**Voltaic Line!"** We both shouted that at the same time as a powerful bolt of lightning shot out of my pistols and pierced the enemy. After using the Link Arte, the enemy simply vanished into cinders. I let out a chuckle.

"Well, that went perfectly." I said, turning to look at the others. I was about to tell them we should keep moving, but Junpei from the other group seemed to have other ideas.

"What the hell was that!?" He yelled. "Man, that was freaking _awesome!_" He turned to Makoto who looked just as _shocked_, eh heh, as the others, "Why can't we do something like that!?"

"Eheheh..." I laughed nervously, "That, um... Well... I'm sure you can do something similar, can't you?"

"No way!" Junpei objected, "Nothing like that!"

I wondered just how different their universe was compared to my own. Makoto couldn't seem to use Angelic Artes so I can rule him out being an angel. Besides, I would have been able to tell straight away if he was one. No, he was... different. I couldn't explain what exactly it was I felt about him, but it made me uneasy. I shook my head and looked at everyone there. What I saw was kinda sweet.

"Seriously. You just _had_ to charge in like a reckless idiot_." _Makoto's Yukari said, without any anger but with a healthy dose of sarcasm, as she healed his wounds.

"Well, this _reckless idiot _just wanted to make sure that you were safe." Makoto fired back, but I saw that he was smiling. That was the very first time I saw him smile, actually. Yukari smiled as well as he got back up on his feet. They looked at each other, care and compassion evident in their eyes. The scene, though sweet in retrospect, made me curious.

(Okay, this is very suspect.)

"I might just regret asking this." I said, grabbing their attentions, "But... What exactly is with you two?"

"Oh! U-Um..." Yukari stammered, looking away from me. Even Makoto looked a little nervous, "You see, um..."

"...We're... How can I put this...?" Makoto said, "...Together."

"As in partners or...?" I asked, starting to get a little worried.

"No! I mean, yeah... In a sense." Makoto said, "We're... boyfriend and girlfriend."

"...W-What...?"

I was in two minds about it. One part of me wants to kill him, but it would be strange killing an alternate universe version of myself – well, I suppose it wouldn't be that strange. Another part of me wants to inflict grievous harm on the next creature that would walk by... And then kill him.

"A-Are you okay?" I hear Yuka ask, seeing my look of shock and anger. I had to bite down the temptation to attack Makoto outright. Instead, I did the next best thing. Letting out a screech, I used Intoner Mode and started attacking the armour parts that were left behind by those creatures. Eventually, they were naught but dust and I had transformed back. Breathing heavily, I looked back at the others, who were justifiably afraid of that display of anger.

"Sorry." I said with a bit of bite behind it, "I just had to get that out of my system."

"It's fine. Happens to the best of us." Makoto said. He didn't look that shocked to see me unload into the armour pieces; it was like he was no stranger to bouts of rage.

"Wait, if those two are together." Yosuke from Yu's group said, "Then..." The implications behind that were not lost on me, even if I had missed his subtle looks back and forth between my sister and I.

"...What are you implying?" I asked, wanting to hear it straight from him.

"If those two are together." Yosuke repeated, "Then does that mean... You and your sister are..."

Needless to say, Yukari and I didn't react well.

"Ew, gross, no!" Yukari yelled, starting to step away from Yosuke and towards me, "Gross gross gross gross gross gross gross!" She said very quickly.

"Seriously, Yosuke!" Chie yelled, "Could you be any more tactless!?"

"What leap of logic led you to that conclusion?" I asked, my voice the very definition of tranquil fury, "Please, tell me, I am legitimately curious. Because the answer might determine whether or not I chop you into pieces."

"Eep!" He jumped and hid behind Kanji, who grabbed him roughly by the collar and threw him back to his original spot.

"Anyway, we should move forward." I said, trying to remove _that_ particular image from my brain. I looked at Weiss who had flew up beside me, "You mind keeping an eye out?"

"Of course, lad." He said, turning his back to us and kept both eyes on the corridor behind us, just in case anything else tries to sneak up on us. We continued to walk down the long corridor and I smiled when I thought of the amount of strength we all possessed.

(I doubt we'll have any trouble getting out of here. Outside may be a different story however... Oh well, cross that bridge when we get to it... Just what in heaven is going on here?)

* * *

Author's Note

And I'm back! Sorry for this taking so long. Computer problems kinda stopped me writing anything for about a week, but I don't foresee any problems in the near future, so all my fics will be updated regularly, or at least semi-regularly, from this point on. I hope you've enjoyed this one; it's a little longer than what I usually do, but it was kinda necessary. I hope I see you for the next chapter and I hope you have a fantastic day.


	4. Chapter 3

Persona Q - Shadows of the Heart

* * *

Chapter 3  
Snow in Summer

We all walked through the metallic corridors without saying a word. An uncomfortable atmosphere permeated the air and made it difficult to get a word in. I had settled for just thinking to myself.

(I don't know what to think anymore. Hamuko is still trapped there in my universe and I can't be there for her... Dammit, why did this have to happen?)

Despite my cheerful persona, I knew that Makoto could see through it. His question about Hamuko and his reaction proved to me that he knew he touched a sore spot. My thoughts turned to that particular part of our conversation.

(I wonder... If he asked about Hamuko, then that means there is a Hamuko where he's from. I wonder what she's like? Hopefully the same fun-loving, cookie eating energetic girl that we all know.)

I was brought out of my thoughts when I crashed into someone's back. Specifically, Kanji's back. I looked around him to see that everyone had stopped walking.

"Hey, what's going on!?" I yell, "This train has no brakes!"

"Are you sure your map is correct?" I heard Mitsuru ask.

"Of course!" I said. Wondering what's going on, I pushed through the crowd of people there, "'Scuse me, 'scuse me, 'scuse me." I say as they try to get out of my way. I immediately noticed what the problem was. Instead of a stairwell, there was a door there. I checked the map and, sure enough, I saw a stair icon where that door was, "Hmm... Interesting."

"Well, what do you think?" Makoto asked, "Should we go through- -?"

I interrupted him by placing a finger over my lips, telling him to keep quiet, and then I pointed near the bottom of the door itself. I had noticed a faint light coming in through the crack at the bottom. The kicker is that the light was a velvet colour. Makoto noticed it after a few seconds.

"Oh..." He let out, "I see."

"Yeah, I kinda figured we'd be running into them eventually." I rubbed the back of my neck before turning to Yu and Yuka, "I take it both of you know what's behind this door?" I asked and received nods in return. I then remembered the twenty-five odd people standing near us and groaned a little, "Okay, this is going to be a little awkward. I just need you all to stay there, alright?" I ordered them, "With any luck, this should only take a second. Which means we're going to be stuck in there for an hour. Yu, Yuka, Makoto; you wanna go see what old Pinocchio is up to this time?"

"He won't like you calling him that." Yuka commented with a stoic tone, though I did see a smile on her face.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt us." I responded, tapping my nose before turning back to the door. Hesitantly and with many eyes watching us, I opened up the door to what I hoped was the Velvet Room.

~Shadows of the Heart~

We were transported into the Velvet Room, though I wished our arrival was a little more welcoming. More specifically, _my _welcoming. I didn't even get a chance to look around the room when something immediately started to attack me. I dodged the Megidola that was thrown at me and I barely dodged the Thunder Reign spell. I summoned Crimson Rose and drew the red blade, ready for a fight.

"**Demon Fang!**" I yell out, sending the Angelic Arte off in the direction of the attack. Looking where exactly they came from, I saw a group of demons – well, that's not entirely accurate; they're actually Personas – waiting off to the side and most of them seemed spoiled for a fight.

(Well, if it's a fight they want, that's exactly what they will get!)

Not giving it a second thought, I charged in. One of the Personas had a different idea however.

"_**That's enough!**_" The Persona I recognised as Cybele yelled at the others.

"_**You're taking HIS side!?**_" Odin yelled back, sounding really pissed off.

"_**I'm not taking anyone's side! You do know who you're attacking, right!?**_"

"_**His mind is corrupted by Nyarlathotep! We can't allow him to live!"**_

"What the hell is a nyarla – nya – ni – blahp! That's a tongue twister; I'm not even going to try to pronounce that." I turned around and before I could call out Makoto for his Personas attacking me _again_, I saw that we had gotten ourselves into a very awkward situation.

"Oh gee, _this_ is awkward!" I said sarcastically as I saw that everyone was in the Velvet Room along with us. Makoto's Personas ignored this as they continued to argue.

"_**I'm telling you, he's not our enemy!**_" Cybele yelled at the other Personas, before looking at a certain Persona, "_**Orpheus! Surely you can see that he's not someone we should be fighting!**_"

"_**How do you explain the soul that's residing within him?**_" Another Persona, that Cybele called Orpheus; the one who was carrying a golden lyre and whose armour's coloured red and gold said, "_**He's an abomination.**_"

"Call him that again and you make _me_ your enemy!" Yukari yelled out from my group, "Here's a piece of advice, you don't want me as your enemy."

"You should listen to her." I said to the Personas, "You don't want to see her when she's royally pissed off."

That kept them quiet.

"I'll let that comment slide, just this once though." I said darkly, "The next time you try to kill me, you'll regret it."

A low amused chuckle filled the room, drawing our attentions to the table that sat in the middle of the very large room I had now noticed. Behind it sat a familiar long nosed old man.

"Now this was unexpected. I hadn't quite anticipated that they would attack you." Igor said amusedly.

"Well, you know me, Igor. Always managing to piss off someone." I said just as amused. Though everyone but Makoto, Yu and Yuka were confused a little. I then noticed who was beside him. Elizabeth stood on his right side, and two unfamiliar women were on his left side. The one closest to Igor looked very elegant; platinum blonde hair, pale skin and golden eyes. She wore similar blue clothing to Elizabeth.

(Come to think of it, she did mention a sister. Perhaps this is her? The other one: Definitely not.)

The other girl had pale skin, chin length brown hair and grey eyes. She wore a little make up; her eyes were slightly shadowed and she had lipstick on. Her clothes looked... um... I don't know how to describe it properly but I'll try to. A white sleeveless shirt, a black necktie with various safety pins and a chequered skirt with a black belt that had a fancy golden buckle that resembles a heart with wings. She also had black, red-striped protective sleeves on each of her arms. She carried a deep blue bag adorned with golden designs which matched the cap she wore, which had a golden button with a V on it. I also noticed that around her neck was a red choker with a lock on it. It probably meant something but I didn't think too deeply on it. The other leaders seemed to recognise them though.

"Margaret?" Yuka asked, a little shocked to see her there.

"Marie?" Yu asked at almost the same time.

"Yuka." The older woman, who was named Margaret, responded with a smile. I noticed that the fashion victim, who Yu called Marie, smiled at Yu. Yu seemed to recognise Margaret as well, judging from his expression.

"Maybe you should explain what's going on here, Igor?" I asked him. Marie scoffed at me.

"You mean you don't know?" She asked with a sarcastic tone.

"If I knew, would I be asking?" I fired back. We gave each other a brief glare before I turned back to the long-nosed old man, who spoke with that same tone he usually uses.

"Please forgive my young assistant here. She's... very brash." Igor said, which earned him a small glare from Marie, but she looked away quickly, "As for your current situation, you have all been summoned here by Master Philemon."

"Philemon? What does he want with me now?" I asked impatiently, having just about enough of his games, "We have a bit of a problem here, in case he hasn't noticed." I motioned to the huge group of people behind me.

"We are well aware of this." Margaret said with an even tone, "This is much bigger than you realise. Two universes are on the verge of collapse and you're the only ones who can stop it."

"Two?" I questioned, looking back at the others, "Yeah, I kinda figured we were from different universes. Any idea what caused this?"

"I'm afraid that even I am in the dark about this." Igor informed us with a regretful tone to his voice, "All I know is that you'll be able to see a glimpse of the truth behind that door." He pointed a bony finger to the door off to our left. I took a look at it and found it oddly familiar.

(I've seen something like this before...)

I turned back to look at Igor.

"Let me guess; Philemon knows what's going on but he won't tell us?" I asked with an angry edge. Their silence confirmed my suspicions.

"Typical." I heard Makoto say with a similar tone to my own, "Don't care to tell the grunts what's going on? That's just like him."

"Forget about him." I said to him before addressing Igor, "Listen, we won't shoot the messenger. Just tell us- -Hey! Stay out of my personal space!" I yelled at Orpheus who sneaked up on me. In response, I summoned my twin pistols and aimed them at him, "You wanna fight, Orphy!? You wanna fight!?"

"_**Why are you so aggressive!?**_" He asked angrily, floating back a little.

"I don't know if you're after me! I have no idea! I don't know if you want to kill me like Thor nearly did; you just stay over there!"

"Orpheus, back off." I heard Makoto say, actually sounding amused despite the weird-ness of our situation, "He may be a little... weird, but he's not a bad guy. At least, I think not."

That seemed to get the Personas to calm down a little. At least to the point where they're not going to try to kill me on sight.

"Is there anything I can do to gain your trust?" I asked them, "Because it's just going to get awkward otherwise, what with all of you trying to kill me."

"_**Explain yourself then.**_" Orpheus demanded, "_**Why do you have HER soul in your body?**_"

"Um... Which one?" I asked confusedly, "I have like six souls in my body right now and almost all of them are annoyed with you."

"_**I think they're talking about me."**_

"Really?" I asked, surprised and a little confused, "Why would you think that...? True, you do get a little _too _friendly when you have a few drinks in ya, but still- -"

"_**I thought we agreed not to talk about that.**_"

"Fine, fine." I said, "What makes you think it's you they're talking about?"

"_**I don't know. It could have something to do with that group over there."**_

"What do you...?" I realised what she was talking about very quickly, "Oh... I see."

"_**You think this could be a problem?**_"

"I won't let them hurt you. I swear."

"_**Never doubted you for a second.**_"

"Um... Who are you speaking to?" I hear Yukari's voice ask me, and I turned to look at Makoto's group.

"The person who Makoto's Personas here have a grudge with, apparently." I looked at Orpheus with a strong glare, "To answer your question: One, she was dying. Two, she needed my help. That's all there is to it."

"_**Why would you give refuge for a creature like her?**_" He asked, still with that angry tone. I sighed and turned my head to look at Makoto, who looked on with a very confused expression.

"Forgive me if I insult you, but do they always attack perceived threats like a bunch of trigger happy morons?"

"You're a fine one to speak about being trigger happy." He said.

"Hey, I was defending myself, you can't really- - NO!" In the middle of the conversation, I turned around and pointed down towards the floor. Koromaru was, once again, trying to steal some treats from my back pocket. I laughed when Koromaru growled at me, "I caught you in the act this time, Koro-Koro. You can't fool this mind, you- - NO!" I turned around 180 degrees and caught the _other_ Koromaru trying to sneak off with some treats. He growled at me also, "Oh, a double team, eh? I give you points for effort, but you'll have to try harder than that! And what is that? It's shiny!" I ran over to where the shiny thing was, completely getting off the conversation I was having with the Koromaru's. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a golden crown, embedded with many jewels resting on a pedestal. There were other objects scattered around the room but my sight was firmly set on the crown.

"Ohhh..." I let out as I looked at it from all angles. My face probably looking like a curious child at that moment. Letting a smile grace my lips, I quickly grabbed the crown and placed it on my head, "_I'm King of the Castle! I'm King of the Castle! And you're the dirty rasc- -" _I sang as I did a little dance, signifying that I am their king and they should bow before me. Unfortunately, someone interrupted me.

"Kazuto!"

I stopped while I had one foot off the ground and paused there for a moment before I brought my foot down. I gave a salute and a bright smile.

"Coming, sweetie!" I said to Aigis, and walked back to where the others were. Most of them were giving me very strange looks. Bah, do they not realise they're in the presence of their king!? The only ones that weren't looking at me strangely were my group and the Rise from Yu's group. A sudden fit of giggling caused us to look at Yuka who was trying so hard not to laugh uncontrollably.

"And what's so funny, Yuka?" Makoto asked.

"I- -" She giggled again, "I just imagined you doing that, Makoto!" That was all she said before she fell into laughter. She wasn't alone in her laughter, as the Yukiko's laughs filled the room also.

"Um... Did I do that?" I asked innocently, tilting my head. Aigis walked up to me and adjusted the crown on my head so it wasn't crooked.

"No. Not at all." She told me, smiling softly.

"If I may interrupt." Igor drew our attentions back to him.

"Oh, sorry, you were saying?" I asked, the crown still on my head. Igor stayed silent, though he was looking at the crown. It took a moment for me to realise what he was saying and sighed sadly.

(It's such a nice crown...)

I reluctantly removed the crown from my head and placed it on the table in front of him.

"It's kinda funny." Marie said knowingly, "How easily you can wear that; considering you're a Prince and all."

To the other groups, that was very unexpected. Yells of disbelief and various _what_'s were thrown around the room. I gave Marie an exasperated look.

"I was trying to avoid mentioning that, thank you." I said with much sarcasm.

"Don't mention it." She responded in a similar tone.

"Wait, what does she mean by _Prince_?" Yosuke from Yuka's group asked. I chuckled nervously.

"Um... Well... _Prince_ is not actually my title." I explained, "I'm actually a _Lord_. In human terms though, a _Lord _is the equivalent of a Prince."

"So does that mean- -?" Makoto looked at my sister, who nodded.

"Yup. Same here. I'm actually a Princess in your terms."

"_In human terms_...?" Yu said curiously, spotting the weird choice of words we used, "You make it sound like you're not human."

I simply stared at them, waiting for them to realise it. Funnily enough, it was Yuka who saw it first.

"Um, are you kidding me right now?" She asked, trying to keep a stoic look but failing miserably.

"Nope." I said, "It's... kind of a long story, like I said, but the answer to your question is that Yukari and I are part angel."

"...Sorry, what?" Makoto asked, presumably in shock, though I had difficultly telling, "That certainly explains what you did back there..."

"You'll have to discuss this some other time." Margaret said, "Even as we speak, the Shades that roam this place are preparing an assault. You have to be quick. Go through that door and see for yourself a glimpse of the truth."

(Shades...?)

Turning to the giant white door with golden handles, I walked towards it. Looking back, I saw that everyone was following me to the door. Makoto walked on ahead and took a hold of the handle beside me.

"Ready?" He asked stoically.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

~Shadows of the Heart~

We opened the door and were blinded by a bright light. Similar to the one we saw when we opened the door back at Tartarus. When I was able to feel my surroundings again, I immediately felt a chilly air surrounding us. And when I was able to see again, I saw exactly why I felt that. I found myself letting out a surprised gasp as I examined my surroundings. Many buildings were destroyed, the motorway behind us had collapsed, and it was snowing a lot.

"What is this place?" I heard Weiss ask out loud.

"I've never seen anything like it." Yuka said, keeping her Grimoire close by.

"...Why does this feel so familiar to me?" I asked softly, noticing that a small building was in front of us. It was in mostly good condition, all things considered and it provided adequate shelter from the cold, so I pointed it out to everyone. We all rushed inside and shook the snow off our clothes.

"Lucky gits." I murmured, referring to Yu's group, "More prepared for a snowstorm than us..."

"What do you think Igor wants us to see?" Yu asked, standing up to look out the busted out window, "I don't recognise this place."

"Me neither." Yuka said also.

"Same here." Makoto said. I kept silent, mostly because I was thinking and mostly because our environment felt strange. I stood up and looked at the others, who were sitting down.

"I'm going to look around, stay here, alr- -" I stopped when I noticed, from the corner of my eye, something on the floor on the opposite side of the room. Walking closer to it, I saw that it was a book. A familiar one. One that I hate to my very core. Seeing the familiar decoration, I glared at it. Though it wasn't the same book, I had realised, the feelings of anger that were associated with it were invoked within me. I heard absolutely no-one speaking and I could tell they were watching me. I paid them no mind as I continued to glare at the tome.

"...Damn you... NOIR!" I growled as I gave it a strong kick, sending it flying into a pile of junk that was there. With the sound of the crash still lingering in the air, I leaned back against the counter as I tried to calm down. Thoughts and images ran through my head and all of them served to make me even more angry; if not at the Shadowlord or the Great Will, then at myself.

(I don't have time for this shit! I have to save her!)

I shuddered when I felt a hand rest themselves upon my shoulder. Turning to see who it was, I saw Aigis' worried, and saddened, expression looking at me. I calmed down immediately.

"...We spent so little time together... I never... I'm a failure." I said, forcing back the onslaught of emotions I felt.

"No, you're not." She said bluntly, "You did all you could to save her... We will get her back."

"Yes... We will." I said, sounding way older than I actually was, "I promise you I will... I'm tired of losing the people I care for."

"...Can I speak to you privately?" She whispered, and I nodded. We left the others behind and headed outside. Turning the corner into a secluded alley, we spoke candidly.

"I tried so hard to keep my anger in check... To think of what she's going through; suffering all alone... I can't take it anymore!" I said, sadness and rage pouring out of my every word. In response, Aigis reached out and pulled me into a loving embrace.

"...You remember what we promised each other?" She asked, and I nodded, resting my chin on her head.

"Yeah. That we would support each other to the end." I said, recalling the conversation that we had on the roof of the school. We fell into an uneasy silence; each of us not willing to break the hold we had of one another.

"...I will do whatever it takes to make sure your future is a happy one, Kazuto." She said nervously, "I... I just need you to know that."

"Aigis... I- - Mmmph!" I was cut off when Aigis reached up and placed her lips on my own. I responded immediately, kissing her and pouring all my love into it; as I always do. Eventually, we had to pull back. I was blushing and I saw that she looked a little embarrassed as well, "Aigis..." I said, panting a little, "This isn't the place for..."

"I know, and I'm sorry." She paused for a second before burying her head into my shoulder, "No... No, I'm not. I had to show you how I felt, and that was the best way."

I looked down at her, seeing her smiling face. I smiled also and planted a kiss in her hair.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to complain."

"...You are so precious to me." She said, "I can never say this enough... But I love you with all my heart. I am the luckiest being alive to be able to stay by your side. You're the dearest thing to me in this world and my greatest reason for saving it... My one and only love... I'll cherish every happy memory you've given me."

"...I love you too." I told her, leaning in to kiss her on the lips once more, "We should get back. Before they start to suspect something."

"Yeah, we should." We reluctantly moved away from the hug and walked slowly out the alleyway, "I wonder who's going to ask about what happened first? Probably Junpei." She speculated. I gave a low chuckle.

"Either him, or one of the other groups."

"I willing to bet 5000 yen on it being Yuki-san." She said confidently.

"Now if I were to bet on that, it would be an abuse of my abilities as a master tactician, and my privileges as a Lord."

"...10000 yen?"

"Done."

~Shadows of the Heart~

"And just what were you two up to?" Makoto and Junpei asked at roughly the same time. Aigis and I ignored the question and tried to discern who spoke first. After a second, we turned to look at each other.

"Call it a tie?" I asked her, who nodded.

"We know what happened." My sister said with a teasing grin, "We saw and heard everything."

"W-What!?" Aigis and I yelled at the same time.

"W-Well, you see... I-I-I, um... We, um..."

"W-We have a very, um... but you didn't..."

"Aren't they just adorable?" Junpei teased us as we tried to stammer out an explanation, "Too shy to express their feelings out in the open."

The other groups looked at us, expressions ranging from amused, teasing smirks from most of Yu and Yuka's group to happy and supportive from Makoto's group. Makoto himself was looking at us; I couldn't tell what he was thinking behind that neutral look of his.

"So you two are...?" Though he didn't finish his question, we knew what he was asking. We both nodded, embarrassed and blushing, refusing to look at each other in the eye.

"Aww! That is so cute! I'm so happy for you, Kaz!" The Rise who I knew cheered joyfully. My blush remained on my face as I placed my hands in my pockets, taking a grip of the box that remained in there.

(...I'll wait until the perfect moment.)

I turned around and walked to the window. I watched as the snow continue to gently fall to the ground. I happened to look slightly to my right and saw something _very_ interesting. Just over the top of the building that was outside, I saw a very pointy tip. I had a feeling I knew it from somewhere so I jumped off the small ledge, onto the snowy ground and ran so I could see past the bombed out building. The sight was enough to make me recoil in shock.

"What the...!?"

"What's wrong?" I heard Makoto ask as he ran up beside me and looked in the direction I was looking at, "This is not possible...!"

Everyone else followed us to where we were and their reactions were like ours. We knew what it was, what it meant, but we couldn't exactly believe it.

"That's Tokyo Tower..." I said, "We're in Tokyo."

The tower was still standing tall though it looked old and rusty.

"What... What happened here?" Yuka asked, looking around now, "If this is Tokyo, then..."

"...We should get back into that building." I said, motioning everyone to get back into the shelter of the building, "Come on."

We sat on the cold floor, confused and wondering just what was going on. It was quite clear: Tokyo had been destroyed. By what is the question of the day however. And believing what we were seeing is another challenge entirely.

"Why does Igor... Philemon want us to see this?" Makoto asked. I was wondering that myself, though the others had other questions.

"Who exactly is this Philemon?" Naoto from Yu's group asked.

"An asshole, that's who." I responded snidely, "And forget about him, he's not going to help us. We'll just have to figure it out on our own." I stood up, "Now, maybe there's something in this store that we can use. Let's have a look." I turned the corner behind the shelf and saw a big box near some rubble.

(How convenient.)

Walking over to it with a little suspicion, I picked it up and brought it back to the group. We gathered around it and carefully opened it up. Inside was something I didn't expect to see.

"Is that a laptop?" Yu asked, helping me lift it out of the box.

"Well, at least that's one bit of good news." I responded, lifting the laptop's screen and pressing the power button, "Eh, nothing. Kinda figured that. Maybe we can remote access its OS using Burroughs."

"I'm way ahead of you, Kaz." Burroughs appeared and informed us, "Preliminary scans show that the technology is very different to our own but I can still access a computer that's running nearby. Take a look."

She pulled up another hologram that showed the desktop of a computer. I recognised the layout of the computer as one that a medical company would use. I wasn't interested in that though, I was interested in the date. Using my finger, I touched the clock that was running in the bottom right hand corner and took a look at the calendar. I thought seeing Tokyo Tower was freaky, _this_ however topped that in terms of freakishness.

"...Burroughs, are you sure this is right?" I asked, needing to confirm this before we all went into a panic.

"It's up-to-date, and it's in real time."

"What's the matter?" I heard Makoto's Mitsuru ask. I motion the leaders to come look at the calendar.

"Look at this." I said, pointing to the date, "June 5th 2054."

"But that's- -!" Yuka yelled, "We're in the future!"

"Yes, but notice what month it is as well." I hinted, seeing a major problem with what's going on.

"June..." Makoto caught on quickly as to what season it was, "It's Summer!" We all turned to look out the window.

"It's snowing in Summer..." Yu said, completely shocked and unable to comprehend what we're seeing.

(Is this what they wanted us to see...? Why? What exactly happened here...?)


	5. Chapter 4

Persona Q - Shadows of the Heart

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Chapter 4  
Shadowlord ~ Reflections ~

We didn't dare move from the safety of our shelter. After what we had learned, we didn't feel safe moving about. I assumed that a door would appear soon, so we just had to be patient. I sat with my group in complete silence. I was paying no attention to my surroundings whatsoever, so when Naoto came up to me with a question, I jumped a little.

"Back there, we heard you say a name: _Noir_. Who exactly is this _Noir_?" She asked me, but it was Weiss who provided the answer.

"That would be Grimoire Noir." Weiss explained, "Accomplice to the Shadowlord and the one responsible for the loss of Kazuto's left arm."

"You're Grimoire Weiss, correct?" Naoto asked the magic tome, "Then is this Noir similar to you?"

"He is nothing like me!" He vehemently denied the accusation, "He is not as powerful, wise or as kind as I!"

"Kind?" I questioned him, slightly amused, "Who's the one who yelled at Junpei for calling you a floating magazine?"

"Bah! Kids these days should show their elders some respect. They stand in the presence of ancient wisdom. Magic of the darkest, most arcane type."

"Wow, way to be modest, Weiss." I said sarcastically.

"Takeba." I heard the Mitsuru from Makoto's group address me so I turned towards her, "I can't help but notice that you don't have an Evoker? Do you not have a Persona?"

"...It may be easier to show you rather than explain." I said, holding out my hand, "May I borrow your Evoker?" Mitsuru seemed hesitant to hand it over, "Pretty please?" I added, still holding out my hand. Eventually, she took the Evoker out of her holster and handed it to me. Without any hesitation, I pointed it at my head and pulled the trigger. No sound of breaking glass, no Persona, no anything happened. The S.E.E.S group looked confused about this; _if he's the leader, why doesn't he have a Persona_ is probably what was running through their minds.

"I don't have a Persona." I explained, "I loss the ability to summon them during the battle with the Emperor and Empress Arcana."

"That wasn't a pretty battle. If it weren't for his sword appearing when it did and Fuuka's help, we probably would have lost." Mr. Iori from my group spoke up. He was completely right about that.

(I can't thank him enough for all his help. It's nice to have the Guardian of Tokyo as an ally.)

"It wasn't exactly an easy fight for us as well." The other Junpei said, "...We- -"

"Junpei." Makoto warned him off with a look that said to not say anything more on the matter.

"What happened?" Akihiko asked, "It can't- -" I held out an arm, telling Akihiko to stay quiet. I turned my head to look at Makoto.

"I won't force you to reveal anything you don't want to. Alright?" I told him. I know what it's like to have secrets, and the best way to learn them is that if the other person wants others to know, they'll tell them. Otherwise, it's best not to pry.

"Thanks." He said after a pause, and then stood up to stand near the window and look out at the ruined city. A silence fell over us once again until a huge gust of wind blew past the building, bringing a large amount of snow with it. It was so thick we could barely see outside. I stood up also and walked up beside him, just out of earshot of the others. He didn't look at me as he responded.

"Look at that storm... Just what happened here? And if this is the future, whose future is this?"

That was a very excellent question. And one that doesn't have a positive answer no matter what we find. Of course, I had to point out the silver lining of this situation.

"Before you go all doom and gloom, think about it." I spoke up with a confident tone, "If we know about what will happen in the future, we can change it."

"...That's nice. You should tell that to others, but not to me." Makoto responded, "I'm sorry, but I've run out of time. For ten years, I've run out of time, and I haven't even known until I was told. But that's why I'm fighting now."

(Run out of time...? What does that mean?)

I didn't know what he meant, but the way he talked proved that he knew what his fate entailed and yet he was content with letting his story play out the way the Gods demand it.

"Resigned to your fate, huh?" I asked, disappointed at how easily he's given up, "Regardless of what your future is, we have the power to alter our fates. I've seen this first hand. With a strong leader and a strong will; anything can change."

"Tell that to my sister."

(What...!? Don't tell me- -!?)

The wind picked up for a second before it died down completely. We looked outside to see a similar door to the one in the Velvet Room. We all had the same thought: That it was our way out of this snowy hell. With that hope in our hearts, I called out to the others and walked towards it. I stopped just in front of the door and took one last look at Tokyo Tower. A feeling of dread and sadness welled up inside me and I had to look away.

"Kaz..." I heard Rise call out to me. I turned to see that she had walked over from Yu's group to speak to me, "Are you alright?"

"...I feel as though I've been here before, Rise." I told her, "All this snow though... Where did it come from?"

"We'll just have to figure that out later." She simply said, "We should focus on getting out of here."

"Good plan..." I couldn't help but think that something was wrong. I had a bad feeling about what was in that large room on the second floor, which was our next destination. Knowing that I couldn't do anything about it for the moment, I moved to open the door.

~Shadows of the Heart~

We ended up back in a similar corridor; though according to Burroughs we had more twists and turns before we end up at the large room. It gave all of us time to prepare ourselves for what could be behind it. Though in my case, thoughts of my conversation with Makoto kept invading my mind.

(So... In his universe, she's his sister... Such a stark contrast. He's also accepted the fact that he might die... I will protect everyone. What kind of leader would I be if I can't do that much?)

I was brought out of my thoughts when Yuka tapped me on the shoulder.

"What did you two talk about?" She asked, and I knew she was referring to the conversation I had with Makoto. I wasn't able to lie about this, so I told her what was up.

"...He's willing to throw his life away so easily. It's disgusting." I said softly, trying to avoid being overheard by everyone else.

"...That's just how he is." Yuka said bitterly and just as quietly, "So eager to sacrifice himself, without thinking of those he left behind... I haven't forgiven him for that... Ryoji and him... Why did they have to go?"

"Ryoji Mochizuki." I said the name of our mutual friend aloud, "You got that scarf from him, didn't you?" A slight nod from Yuka was my answer, "He was a constant in the days after I had lost my arm and my... and Hamuko." I managed to cover up that without her noticing, "He helped me get through the rough days when I was trying to get adjusted to my metallic arm... And then he left me to become God's Chariot." I wasn't going to say anything beyond that and Yuka was perceptive enough to see that I didn't want to speak more about the subject. I cleared my mind of the memories associated with him and smiled down at Yuka, "At least the two of us were able to find happiness in the end."

"H-Huh?" She stammered and turned her head away, presumably to hide a blush, "How did you know?"

"Your smile gave it away." I told her, "That's not a smile you give just anyone. I can tell that it's reserved for the one you love."

"...Y-You don't think it's repulsive?" She asked nervously, afraid of what I would think of their relationship. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I have no right to complain." I said, "Even if that week never happened, I wouldn't have any problems with it. Besides, I'm in love with someone most people would automatically call a robot. Compared to that, you're pretty normal."

"...You know, you're not actually a bad guy." Yuka said, giving me a smile, "I think we'll get along just fine... So... Who is Hamuko to you?" And there's the question I was dreading. If only because explaining it would be a nightmare for me.

"...You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." I said. Yuka gave a short _hmph_ sound.

"I can believe you being an angel." She pointed out, "So come on, it can't be that bad, right?"

"...Well... You see, she's- -"

I was interrupted by Kanji letting out a surprised yelp.

"Holy shit, that is a huge door!"

I looked up and saw what he is talking about. I let out a whistle.

"You aren't kidding." I walked towards the humongous white double set door carefully, "Burroughs, is this the door to the huge room we saw?"

"Yes, I am certain." Burroughs told me, "Be very careful, Kaz, I detect a very strong presence up ahead. Be ready for anything."

With Burroughs warning lingering in the air, I thought about what would be the most logical way to go about clearing the room.

(Hmm... Can't risk going in all at once, that's just asking for a slaughter... Alright, I think I've got it.)

"Aigis. Weiss." I call out to them who walked over quickly, "We go in and make sure it's safe." I told them while looking at the others, "Follow in behind us, but don't stick too closely. Maintain a decent distance. That way, we can cover every angle. That alright with everyone?" There were no objections. Turning back to face the door, the sense of dread and nervousness filled me once more. Steeling myself for what could be behind it, I pushed the doors open.

~Shadows of the Heart~

We were greeted with the sight of a huge room. A very bright room, as the sunshine shone through the curtain which blew in the gentle breeze. Aigis and I walked towards the middle of the room with Weiss floating beside us. The others followed in at a distance like we planned, their feet making a little noise from walking on the stone floor. I scanned the room carefully, to make sure nothing was lying in wait for us. I noticed a double set doorway at the other end of the room, and right near it was a bed. The floor surrounding it was covered with a soft carpet. And on this bed, lay someone who I hadn't seen for over a month. This person, with her white long hair and closed eyes, looked as though she was in a peaceful slumber. I knew it wasn't peaceful though, and I was finally going to be able to save her from all this. With a sense of relief I hadn't felt in what felt like an eternity, I called out to her.

"Hamuko!"

Together, Aigis and I rushed in to see her but was soon stopped by a dark portal opening in the floor. I took a step back defensively as I saw a dark figure rose up from within it.

"What the- -!? What's going on!?" I heard Yukari yell. I had heard their footsteps rush in as soon as we started to run, but were soon stopped by a shield blocking their path. I could tell because of the unique chime that filled the room. The same chime as when Weiss uses his shield spell.

(They're here...)

"We can't get through!" I heard Yuka yell also. They fell silent as the dark figure rose higher into the air, his red and black wings allowing him to look down upon us. The various runes that appeared and disappeared across his body. The lower half of his body and his arms being completely black; his upper body and face grey. His golden eyes and his hair as black as the darkest night. I knew exactly who this was. I watched as he hovered, crossed his arms across his chest and released a wave of energy, red as blood, keeping us where we were. I watched as he stared at the two of us. The others could clearly see him, that was made clear to me by their reactions.

"S-Sensei! I've never seen a Shadow this powerful before!" I hear Teddie yell.

"His hair... It can't be...!" The Mitsuru from Makoto's group said. How could I tell who it was? Well, my Mitsuru knew exactly what he was, as did everyone in my group. I watched as he let his wings flutter, before he gently landed on the ground. Lifting his head to meet my eyes, I couldn't hold back my anger any longer.

"**I'll kill you!**" I growled without any of the enjoyment I would get from battle as I summoned the Falchion and charged in. The Shadowlord flew higher than I can reach him as Grimoire Noir appeared from behind him. I barely managed to dodge the pages he summoned as his weapons and started to hack away at them. I had decided not to use Angelic Artes in this fight. I wanted to feel every blow that I land on him _personally_. Grimoire Noir was resilient and crafty; creating shields to protect himself, though those shields did not last long under the combined assault of Aigis and myself. I had used Weiss' Dark Hand spell to strike the opposing book and Noir flew back out of range soon after the spell landed.

"How could a mere tool hope to stand against the Shadowlord?" Grimoire Noir asked Weiss as he threw up another shield.

"Don't speak in such a manner, fool!" Weiss growled at Noir, "I am nothing like you!"

Noir sped back and forth between the barrier separating everyone from us and the doorway. Leaving floating pages behind as they shot out red energy balls. Those things hurt, I know from experience, so I avoided them as I got closer to the shielded tome and started to slash at him. Thanks to a well placed shot from Aigis, the shield was destroyed and I took advantage of it by hitting him with another Dark Hand. Noir was starting to panic, which was pleasant to my ears.

"...No. No! Impossible!"

Noir knew that he would die if we managed to continue hitting him. So he used a cheap move by moving out of our way, creating another shield and rammed right into me, sending me crashing against the barrier; blood spilling out of a wound that had been created.

"Don't relax yet! It's not over!" Weiss yelled as I got back onto my feet. The others must have felt useless, only being able to watch as I fought relentlessly against the Shadowlord and Grimoire Noir, but this was a fight for Aigis, Weiss and I. I wouldn't have allowed them to interfere even if I was losing. Noir had created more of his magic spewing pages that spat out the red energy balls. Noir and Weiss are able to use the same spells so all it comes down to is a matter of skill. I summoned several Dark Lances and shot them at the tome to clear some of the energy balls away and ran straight for him. With Aigis close behind, I struck the shield until it was no more, somersaulted back a few feet, summoned several more Dark Lances and fired them straight into Noir's spine. Seeing that he was dazed, we all charged in, hitting him a few more times until a vertical slice from the Falchion sliced him in half. Weiss absorbed the blood that spilled out from the tome, and though Grimoire Noir was no more, the real battle was just beginning.

"Be careful!" I hear Aigis yell at me as we saw the Shadowlord drop in from the ceiling and land on the floor.

"You too!" I replied as we ran towards him. The Shadowlord was ahead of us though, jumping in, summoning his sword while in the air. We barely dodged his strike as he landed. I took advantage of the opportunity he created by hitting him a few times, but he seemed unfazed. I did know I was damaging him so I kept attacking. Spells from him and Weiss were thrown about as we continued our song and dance. He had a few tricks up his sleeve; going under the floor and striking from below, sending out various spears and trying to hit me with them before using a direct assault. We were just as quick as the other, but as I summoned Beastlord and swung, I got a lucky strike and sent him flying backwards, rolling across the ground. Seeing the chance to end it, I began to run.

"Wait!"

"Huh?" I stopped and turned towards the sound of her voice. I hadn't heard that voice for so long, I couldn't help but stop and pay attention when I saw those blue eyes. She was out of the bed she was confined in and on her feet, wearing a white dress instead of her normal attire. The entire room fell silent, and nobody dared moved a muscle. The only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of our breathing and Hamuko's footsteps across the carpet as she walked towards me. She looked out of breath and seemed to have difficulty walking. We all waited to see if she had anything to say, and the next thing she said made me so happy, though it sounded painful to say and she had to say it in between breaths.

"Dad..."

"Hamuko..." I began to walk towards her, left arm outstretched to receive her. As we took those steps toward each other, time seemed to have slowed down. And it was only after we had stepped past each other that I realised she wasn't speaking to me.

"What?" I let out, confused and wanting answers. Hamuko had walked up to the Shadowlord who was on his hands and knees and breathing pretty deeply, his breaths sounding more demonic than human, and stopped a few steps away from him.

"_**Hamuko...**_" The Shadowlord said in his own tongue, similar to the angel language but it wasn't. Regardless, we could all understand what he was saying. And I do mean _all_ of us.

"Dad... stop. Please..." Hamuko pleaded, much to our ever growing confusion, "I... I don't want this anymore. I don't need someone else's body... I don't want it."

"_**Someone else? No, Hamuko! They were ours to begin with!**_" The Shadowlord objected, but Hamuko continued on.

"There's another girl inside this body... I can... I can hear her. She keeps crying... She says... She wants to see her dad."

"Hamuko's been possessed!?" I said with shock, realising the truth behind her words.

"This girl loves her father too, as much as I do... She loves him so much. It... It's not right that she can't see him."

"_**Hamuko... Stop... Please...**_" The Shadowlord pleaded, hanging his head down. His pained breaths suggest that he was distraught over what was happening. Hamuko had slowly turned away from him and looked at me, curiosity in her eyes and also, hope.

"Are you... _Dad_?" She asked me. Various emotions shot through me at that moment. Love, fear, happiness. All of those made me let Beastlord fall out of my loosening hands and hit the ground with a metallic clang.

"Yes, I am." I answered her, holding out my human arm to her, "Let's go home." I said so desperately, wanting this nightmare to be over. Hamuko slowly looked back at the Shadowlord, then to me and seemed to have come to a decision. She turned around and walked as best she could towards the nearest window.

"_**No! You can't do this! Hamuko, please, listen to me!**_" The Shadowlord said desperately, reaching out for her. Hamuko continued to walk until she reached the curtain. She stopped there and slowly turned back to face the Shadowlord.

"I... I'm sorry, Dad... I don't... I don't know what to... I'm so very sorry." She said as the curtain blew upwards from a gust of wind, allowing the sunlight to hit her. It was then I realised exactly what she was doing. Shadows have a natural weakness to sunlight; it's why they attack under the cover of the Dark Hour. What the Shadow inside her is doing is committing suicide. As I saw the dark aura leave Hamuko's body, her eyes welled up with tears.

"I love you, Dad... I love you."

As the dark aura was completely expunged from her body and disappeared into the sunlight, Hamuko collapsed.

"Hurry! The Shadow that possessed her is gone!" Aigis said to me. Picking up my weapon, I looked at the Shadowlord.

"_**No... NOOOOOOOO!**_" He screamed to the heavens, before standing up and looked at me. Anger and immense grief in his eyes, "_**Hamuko...? Why!?**_"

"Aigis, watch Hamuko for me! Weiss, protect them!" I told them as they rushed to the fallen girl before looking at the Shadowlord, who started to fly with his wings, "You want me to understand your sadness? You think I'm going to sympathise with you? After everything we've done!?"

"_**But why!?**_" The Shadowlord screamed.

"I swore to protect everyone dear to me: My daughter, sister, friends, the one that I love. If someone puts them in danger, they must stand aside or be cut down!" I summoned the Falchion once more, "Come on! Let's go!"

"_**NOOOOOOO!**_" His screams of sadness filled the hall as I rushed in. He created several spears that shot out from the ground and tried to stop me from getting any closer. I was faster than them though and dodged easily. He created several pillars of red energy that shot towards that forced me to roll out of the way to avoid them. The Shadowlord and I were just about equal on strength so this is a battle of wills. And my will was stronger. He rushed in and our swords collided, we matched each other move for move but he was stricken with grief and anger, and that was the turning point of our battle. I got in a few clean hits and then sent him flying into the barrier with a swift kick. I ran in to hit him again, but when my sword connected, I was the one sent flying back to the opposite side of the room. His natural defences kicked in as he was down and continually shot red energy balls in my direction, which I either dodged or ran past.

"_**Hamuko... I cannot live... in a world without you...**_"

"I have something to defend!" I yelled with conviction, "I have a reason to live!"

"_**Begone!**_" The Shadowlord yelled back, more of his red energy balls flying in and managing to hit me. I ignored the wounds I received and ran through them to strike the Shadowlord again. I was again sent flying back to the opposite end of the room. I staggered to my feet and walked slowly to him, noticing that he had stopped his assault.

"You... You..." I said painfully. The Shadowlord stayed exactly where he was, in front of the barrier while everyone watched.

"_**Hamuko... Soon I will... join you...**_"

I shuffled across the floor, blood dripping onto the stone tiles as I finally reached him. I raised the Falchion above my head, ready to end this battle. He was kneeling, looking at the floor. He slowly lifted his head to look at me and gave the slightest of nods. I felt my resolve waver as I realised that he was just like me: A man who wanted to protect his daughter at all costs. I shook my head of these thoughts as we both knew what needed to be done.

"No! Don't do it!" I heard Rise yell, but I ignored her plea and swung the Falchion, letting out a yell as I did so. The Shadowlord exploded when I cut through him, the energy created barely grazing me as it dissipated after a moment. The embers of his being scattering in the wind. I let my arm relax, the Falchion scraping across the ground and took heavy breaths.

(...It's over... Finally... It's over...)

"Kazuto!" I heard Aigis yell, her panicked tone made me look in her direction. My worst fear came to fruition: Hamuko, who was secure in Aigis' arms, had disappeared. My eyes widened and my breath hitched; I couldn't believe what I was seeing, _refused_ to believe it. The reality of it was staring me in the face however. She was gone; snatched away from me again.

"No... _**NOOOOOOO!**_" I yelled, the power of my Intoner abilities leaking out and smashing a few of the windows near me, "NO! No, no, no!" I swung my sword towards the sky, though I knew it would do nothing, "Give her back! Give... her..." I let my sword fall out of my hands and I collapsed onto my hands and knees. It was just too much for me to take, so I let out the tears that I was holding back. I cried and cried at the loss of my daughter, and I didn't even notice the others who gathered around me.


	6. Chapter 5

Persona Q – Shadows of the Heart

* * *

Chapter 5  
A Family Reunited

The only sounds in that room were my pained sobs as I collapsed onto my hands and knees; despairing over the loss of my daughter once again. I didn't notice that the shield had dropped and the others were gathered near me. They didn't know what to think; they all heard what was said and the only response they could give for the sight in front of them was silence. I didn't notice the soft sounds of metal stepping on stone until I was forced upright by a pair of cool hands. Aigis looked at me, her turmoil clear, and then before I could say anything, she kissed me. My eyes widened a little before they closed as I returned it. It was too short though as she pulled away.

"...I'm sorry." She said, her voice breaking a little, "This is all my fault."

"No, it isn't." I said, the grief I felt could clear in my voice, "Don't ever think this is your fault."

"She's my daughter too... I have to take responsibility."

There was only silence as we held each other. About a minute later, a voice spoke up.

"I think we should rest here." Makoto said, "Let Kazuto recover his strength... And I think you should explain a few things." He said to me, "We all want to know about Hamuko... If you're up to it."

I looked up at him for a moment before giving a nod. Trying to stand up properly, I was met only with pain. The Shadowlord's attacks hurt more than you think. I let out a loud yelp as I collapsed again, Aigis trying her best to support me. Looking down at my wounds, I could see some blood pour out.

"Isis!"

***BANG!***

As quickly as the sound rang out, I felt my wounds and my stamina regenerate. I looked in the direction and saw Yukari, as in Makoto's girlfriend Yukari... This is just weird. It's weird, and creepy, and just wroooong... Sorry, got a little off topic. Anyway, I saw Yukari looking at me before she turned away, I could see the sympathy she expressed in her eyes. Without changing my expression, I walked to the others who were sitting down and sat down with them.

"So... What do you want to know?" I asked flatly, knowing what their first question would be.

"Hamuko... is your daughter?" Makoto asked, sounding shocked that another Hamuko was here, and that she was my daughter. I nodded and, keeping the same tone of voice, I explained it all.

"Yes. Hamuko was... I hate saying this word... _created_ in a lab run by the Great Will using a vial of my blood. She was designed to be used as a weapon against me."

"They would... send your own daughter to kill you?" The other Junpei asked, shock and disgust in his voice, "Why couldn't they just clone you or something?"

"A simple clone wouldn't work, it would attack them as soon as it was aware of itself. If it was human, they could just modify their memories, but they were working with angelic blood here. A whole new set of rules, and they knew this."

"So they decided to create something they _could_ control." Makoto deduced. Very accurately, if I may add, props to him. I nodded affirmatively.

"Yeah. The end result was Hamuko... And then I saved her. Well, I _will_ save her, and then she'll be with me ever since. Time travel is a confusing mess."

There wasn't much they could say in response. I didn't know much about the events as I haven't experienced them yet. When I heard her call me Dad for the first time, I was confused, very confused. When I saw that she was telling me the truth, I felt a sense of parental love for her that I probably shouldn't feel at that age. Even still, I promised to protect her... And I felt as though I failed in that regard. I stood up and walked to one of the windows. All I could see was the clouds and the sunlight. I wondered about Hamuko, if she was okay, wherever she was. I heard footsteps from behind me and didn't look in Makoto's direction when he stepped up beside me.

"...Are you okay?" He asked, "I know... This must be difficult for you." I continued to stare out the window for a while before sighing.

"No. I have to press onward though. I have to make sure everyone here is safe... It's what she would have wanted." I turned to look at him and noticed the neutral stare he used to near perfection. I wondered how he could so easily hide his emotions while I wore my heart on my sleeve. After a while, I could feel my expression shift from neutral to distraught. I couldn't hold back the emotions I felt and directed my anger at the window as I punched it.

"Damn it all!" I yelled as my fist made a crack on the glass, "Why did it have to be Hamuko!? Why not me!? Of all people, why my only daughter!?"

I breathed in and out to calm down and looked at Makoto once more, who still had that neutral look though I can still see hints of surprise in his eyes.

"Sorry... A leader, especially a Lord, shouldn't lose control of himself like this..."

"No one here will blame you for that." He told me, using a caring tone that surprised the hell out of me. I didn't think he could talk like that; then again, he _is_ an alternate version of me. I guess it's to be expected, "You have every right to be upset... I know I would be."

"I just..." I was unsure about telling him this. Only the others knew this fear of mine and telling a complete stranger this seems a little weird to me. I decided to say _fuck it_ however and place my trust in him, "I just don't know if I'm a good enough father for her. How can I call myself her dad if I can't do the simple task of protecting her? I know what some people think of me as; a monster, a killer, something that shouldn't even exist. If there was just one thing I wanted to be sure of, is that I can be a good father to her."

Makoto turned to look out the window, contemplating my words for a while before looking back.

"Personally, I think you're a violent brute with a nasty tendency to go off on the deep end every once in a while." He told me bluntly. The bluntness of his description of me was so unexpected, it made me let out an honest laugh.

"And here I thought you were going to say something nice about me." I said sarcastically, but not without a smile.

"I'm not finished yet."

Tilting my head in confusion, I waited for him to continue.

"You're also incredibly optimistic, and you care about those you love to the point where you're willing to sacrifice everything for them." He said, "Your eye, your arm and that battle with the Shadowlord is clear proof of this. You'll be fine."

"...I know that probably wasn't easy for you to watch. I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. I know what it feels like to lose what keeps you moving. I've been there, probably as much as you have. So I'll help in any way I can."

I was incredibly moved by this. At first, I didn't exactly trust him. The fact that he was dating an alternate version of my sister probably had something to do with that, but those words were enough to convince me that he was worthy of my trust. He's blunt, but honest; a rare trait where I come from.

"...Thanks. I needed that."

"Don't mention it." With that, he walked back to his group.

(...Alright. Have to lead everyone out of here. I can't afford to mope around.)

~Shadows of the Heart~

Going past the door beside the bed, we ended up in _another _hallway. I was personally sick and tired of seeing those corridors and made my opinion very vocal.

"Am I seriously the only one who is so sick of seeing the same corridors over and over? It's just so noisy and grey and... noisy. It annoys the hell out of me. Burroughs, how long to the last door?"

"Not that far." She popped up in a hologram, "I am detecting some interference however. I think it's the Velvet Room again."

"Oh, for f- Alright, Burroughs, thanks."

She disappeared as Makoto walked up to me.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"The last time the Velvet Room caused Burroughs some trouble, there was only one thing causing it."

"And what is that?"

"We're about to be greeted by the asshole known as Philemon." I told him, to which an immediate scowl formed on his features.

"Oh great. That's the last thing we need right now." He said with much disdain. Something told me that Philemon had pissed him off as much as I was

"No, this is a good thing. We can beat him up to get some answers. I said cheerfully and with a smile; the idea of beating Philemon to a bloody pulp sounding very appealing at that moment, "Ohh, we'll break his legs!" I said quite loudly, my tone and grin indicating that I was fully willing to go through with that. I could feel everyone's eyes staring at me with the exception of my group, probably wondering if there was something wrong with me.

"Like I said: Brute." He muttered amusedly, "Though I am inclined to agree with you." He said, nodding his head.

"Looks like we're about to find out if we're right." I told him, nodding my head in a certain direction to indicate that we were coming up on the door to the Velvet Room once more. With a desire for answers, we entered the door to the Velvet Room.

~Shadows of the Heart~

Our trip into the Velvet Room wasn't as action packed as last time. Makoto's Personas knew not to attack me, at least for now. As I walked towards Igor though, I spotted something shimmering, hovering just above the floor. Knowing what it was, I chuckled.

"Alright, I see a couple of dum-dums here. Come on out." I called out to the little pranksters; and wouldn't you know it, the Jack Brothers came out of hiding.

"_**Aww, I thought it would work, hee-ho!"**_ Infernal Jack said, slightly disappointed.

"_**This is one tricky customer, hee-ho! We need to step up our game!"**_

Amused that the Jacks were still tricky little tanookis, I called out to a Jack of my own.

"Hey, Frosty, I found you some new friends." I said as said Frosty appeared and waddled over to them.

"_**Oh no... Not another one!"**_ Orpheus didn't seem too happy to see Frosty, who was more than happy to start a conversation with the other Jacks.

"_**Wow, hee-ho! You're a couple of handsome hee-ho's."**_

"_**Why thanks, hee-ho. You're a pretty nice hee-ho too."**_

"_**Nice hat, hee-ho!"**_

"_**Thank you very much, hee-ho!"**_

"_**WOULD YOU QUIT SAYING THAT!?"**_

"What is your problem, Orpheus?" I asked, an amused smile on my face, "You racist against Jacks?"

"_**I am nothing of the sort!"**_

"Come to think of it; you said I was an abomination. You racist against angels as well?"

"_**Well, I never- - Master Philemon is here to speak to you, and it's only fair to give him his due respect."**_

"Oh, so you've been tattling on us?" I asked, a little annoyed at the mention of his name but not enough to quit making fun of him.

"_**It's our duty as agents of Philemon."**_

"Noooo. That's because you're a narc!" I said surely, and Yuka seemed to want to join in on the teasing as well from the sound of things.

"Yes, quite a narc!" She said also, much to Orpheus charging.

"_**Hey! I am NOT a- -"**_

"Narc narc narc narc narc narc narc narc!" Yuka and I said to him repeatedly and quite loudly. We couldn't help but laugh after that; Orpheus looked so annoyed at us. Feeling that we've tortured him enough for one day, I went to where Igor sat, looking very amused at our antics.

"Alright, Igor. Where is he?" I asked, "I want answers, and I want them now."

In response, he simply looked to his right. From the shadows, a familiar white suited man wearing a butterfly mask appeared before us. Wasting no time, I asked him the question we were all wondering.

"What is going on here, Philemon? No long speeches, just keep this short and simple, got it? I am not in the mood to deal with your games right now."

"It really is quite simple." He started off, "Your two universes have collided and, as a result, is in danger of being destroyed. All of you have been gathered here to help put a stop to this. Time in both your universes has been stopped, so don't feel pressured about completing this task as quickly as possible."

"I'm not talking about that. Margaret told us as much." I said angrily, "I'm talking about the Shadowlord. Why was he here?"

"To show the others your true self." Philemon simply said, "An angel's Shadow is quite a formidable foe indeed."

I heard the gasps of the others. I didn't expect to be able to hide that for too long, and I wasn't really planning to hide it to begin with.

"That thing was YOUR Shadow!?" Yosuke asked with shock. Without looking in either of their directions, I nodded.

"Yeah. Rise figured it out, right at the end. That's why she tried to stop me." I told them.

"Why didn't you accept it?" Naoto asked, more curious than shocked, "A Shadow is never truly gone. It'll manifest time and again until you accept it as part of- -"

"I will _never_ accept that thing as a part of me." I growled at her, "I accept that he was _born_ from me, but I will never accept the things that he has done. Not to my daughter, or to me!"

With that argument shot down, I turned back to Philemon.

"I suppose congratulations are in order for your victory." He told me, but I shook my head.

"No, that wasn't a victory. Hamuko is gone... That battle ended in failure." I said sadly, but he didn't seemed particularly worried, it was like he didn't even care.

"Yes, a failure of my design."

"...What?" It took me a few seconds to fully register what he said, "What do you mean?" Makoto knew _exactly _what he meant.

"He means that it was his fault that your daughter is gone." He spat out in anger, biting back the urge to do anything drastic, "Why would you do this?"

"To prepare you all for the battles ahead." He said without any thought to how others felt. That's just how he is.

"Was it worth it!?" I yelled at him, more than a little pissed at this point, "Was it worth my only daughter!?"

"Rest assured, your daughter is safe. She has been returned back to your universe. As for the Shadowlord, he was simply a reflection of your universe. A replication; he wasn't real."

I noticed the word he used: Reflection. That word implied that the Shadowlord and Grimoire Noir that I fought were simply this place casting a reflection of the Shadowlord from my universe. He didn't use that phrase for Hamuko, which meant that she was real. She was right there. I could have saved her, and this _bastard_ sent her back into my universe. Back into the Shadowlord's hands. When I realised this, tears threaten to escape from me once again as I stagger back.

"You... You sent her back into his hands... I could have saved her..." I said softly, my voice breaking a little. While I was on the verge of shattering into pieces, Makoto was pissed off.

"...So, you weren't content with ruining just one Hamuko's life. You _had_ to ruin another's. And you ask me why I always have a bad taste in my mouth whenever I see you." He said with quiet fury, probably more terrifying than anything Philemon can pull, "That was his daughter! She wanted nothing more than to see her dad, and you couldn't give her that much."

"This demon has no right to be a Wild Card." Philemon told him, "He was only chosen because of his circumstances. Why should I help those that threaten the entire world by simply existing?"

"I ought to kill you here and now." Makoto fired back, "You claim to do all these horrible things for humanity's sake, when it's all to win some bet you didn't even need to wager."

"Halt your actions, Fool of Souls." Margaret interrupted him, preparing the book she held in her hand for a fight, "I don't take kindly to those who threaten my masters."

In response to the thinly veiled threat, Makoto chuckled darkly.

"What's so funny?"

"You forget who you're speaking to." Makoto said with a smile.

"Enlighten me, then." Margaret challenged him with a glare. Makoto was more than happy to return that challenge.

"Your master made me into a monster and aborted my sister from the mortal plane. I'd harboured the offspring of Nyx herself within my psyche for ten years before forcing it out."

(Wait... Did he just say...? You heard that, right?)

"**I did."**

"And yet, I still keep it's powers." As a demonstration of said powers, he turned his arm white of his own free will and power, "Don't test me. I can destroy all of you with little effort if need be. Just ask Elizabeth."

Elizabeth let out a chuckle in response to that. It sounded very nostalgic, which makes you wonder just what exactly happened. I had my own theories, of course, but not ones that I would make known. Margaret let out a short grunt after a tense moment and relaxed her stance, giving up her willingness to fight in the process. Makoto turned back to look at Philemon.

"I've a half-angel with me to my right and an army's worth of Personas stacked in my head. Your previous pawn could beat you in a one-on-one battle. Imagine the damage _we_ can do."

With that threat lingering in the air, I summoned the Falchion to my hand. The sound of it catching everyone's attentions and they stared at me as I raised it to point the weapon at Philemon.

"...Would you like to kill me?" He asked.

"More than you more." I said softly but with a tone that showed how furious I was.

"You know it's pointless. Revenge won't solve anything; especially not the danger both your worlds are in."

I knew he was right. I hated to admit it, but he was right. With two worlds lives at stake, I couldn't afford to have my personal feelings get in the way. How closely I could stick to that principle is something I was working on. Even so, I showed enough restraint to allow the sword to fall out of my hands and on to the velvet carpet. Walking slowly to the suited being, I gave him the darkest glare I have ever given anyone.

"Don't challenge me, Philemon." I said, "I destroyed the Ancient of Days and Metatron. I've defeated Kings, Gods and all those in between. You. Are. Nothing." We stared at each other for a few seconds, those words hanging in the air between us before he turned around.

"I've told you everything I am willing to tell you. Rest here if you need to, then make your way to the outside world. Your journey will be long and difficult, but I am confident you'll make it through this."

With that, he stepped back into the shadows and disappeared from our sight. With him gone and knowing the truth of what happened, I staggered back against a nearby wall and slid down it. I was distraught when I saw Hamuko had disappeared, but Philemon's words left me completely broken.

"Kazu- -"

"No." My sister interrupted Marie with a stern glare and an angry tone of voice, "You don't have the right to speak to him. Not after what your master pulled."

That kept the Velvet Room residents quiet. The room was silent. My conversations with Philemon always left me in a confused or distraught state, and this one was no different. Except for the fact that he took away from me my reason to keep going forward. I blankly stared at the floor, and no-one dared to approach me.

"Well, that was an interesting conversation."

All except one. We all turned in the direction of the voice and saw someone who I knew quite well exit from a portal, along with someone who was hiding behind her. The Velvet Room residents seem to know her as well.

"What do you want, Fallen Angel?" Margaret asked with a hostile tone. Louisa Ferre didn't pay it any heed though.

"What? I can't come check on a good friend of mine? I saw what happened, and I don't think that sad, depressed look really suits him." She said with a smile before looking down at the person hiding behind her, "It's okay. You can come out now." She said gently. A head peeked out from behind her, holding tightly to Louisa's skirt; I could tell immediately who she was. Don't ask me how I knew; parent's intuition, I guess. The medium length white hair that went to just above her eyes and down to her neck, and her blue eyes, along with her light blue dress. My eye widened in disbelief.

"Hamuko...?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My daughter, Hamuko, was standing right there; she was around ten years old, yes, but it was her.

"Go on. Your dad needs you." Louisa told her. Hamuko slowly walked over to me. I noticed she held a cookie in her hand. Everyone else watched as the young girl made her way over to me. When she was standing in front of me, she held out her hand with the cookie in it.

"Here, Dad. You can have this cookie." She told me. I looked at the cookie in her hand and then at her.

"...I don't need it." I said, still in shock over seeing her, "I'm already full."

"But... That's what you said last time." She said, looking really worried about me, "You haven't been eating anything, have you?"

It was true. I was so worried about her, I had neglected eating properly, it was a wonder I was able to fight so well. With my silence as an answer, she broke the cookie in half and held it out to me.

"Come on. At least take half." She offered it again, and this time I took it. I didn't want to disappoint her again.

"...Thanks." I said as she sat down in front of me. I slowly took bites out of the chocolate chip cookie she gave me while I watched her eat her half. I was still having trouble believing that she was really there. When she noticed that I wasn't eating my half of the cookie, she got worried.

"Is something wrong, Dad?" She asked.

"...I just can't believe you're really here." I told her, "Am I dreaming? I have to be..."

Hamuko looked at me and blinked before she suddenly sprung to her feet.

"What's my favourite food?" She asked, to which I looked at her, a little confused.

(Huh?)

"Cookies!" She answered her question with a happy yell, "What's my favourite book? That's my magic storybook! What's my favourite place? Home! ...As long as you're around. What's my favourite flower? The Lunar Tear, of course! Alright, one more question; who do I love more than anyone?" She asked before throwing her arms around me and giving me a hug, "You, Dad. And nothing will ever change that."

I couldn't help it, and I didn't care what I looked like in front of the others. I hugged her back and cried happy tears. A rare thing for me. I was just so glad that she was there.

"Oh, Hamuko..." I said, my voice broke once more. Our little hug fest was interrupted by someone, who wanted to join in.

"Mommy!" Hamuko yelled out with unbridled joy in her voice as she hugged both me and Aigis at the same time. After all the setbacks and uncertainty, I was glad to have this moment with the most important people in my life. I was just... so happy.


	7. Chapter 6

Persona Q – Shadows of the Heart

* * *

Chapter 6  
Linked Ultimate Melody ~ Demonic Shell ~ (Part 1 / 2)

I watched as Hamuko introduced herself to the others, though they already knew who she is. I turned to look at Louisa, who had walked up beside me.

"...Thank you." I said sincerely. She simply smiled.

"Make nothing of it." She said, "I told your future self that you needed her here with you, he said _I know_." We both shared a laugh over that.

"So, you have any clue what's going on?" I asked her; I didn't have much to lose by asking her that question so I thought I would go for broke.

"Unfortunately, no. This universe is outside my domain, I don't have a lot of power in this realm." She said regretfully, "I can offer support and information from the sidelines but that's the extent of it."

"So, in other words, you can't help us out directly."

"That's right."

"Figures..." I looked at the others, who were gathered around Hamuko. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they had smiles on their faces. The only one who didn't was Makoto, I noticed. He looked nervous and slightly apprehensive about going to speak with her, the two haven't said a word to each other. I didn't know what had happened with him and his sister, but something told me that it wasn't a happy ending. His words to Philemon implied that, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. We've been friends long enough, you can ask me anything."

"Does... _You know who_ have power here?"

"No, He doesn't." She replied immediately, "He can't harm or endanger anyone here... Which makes me wonder about who's truly in control. If he or she has this much power..."

"Maybe it's one of your alternate counterparts?" I suggested but she shook her head.

"No, they keep to their own domains. I doubt they would directly interfere unless it benefits them in some way." She started to walk to the portal but stopped halfway there and turned to face me, "I should get going. By the way, ask Igor about a call from both universes. Some people have been trying to get a hold of you for a while now."

"They have?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Oh, and also, here's something for you." She picked up a box she had brought with her and threw it at me. I caught it easily.

"What's this?" I asked, examining the box. It was a decent size, you could easily fit more than a couple things in there.

"Just some odds and ends I picked up from your room. I thought it may come in handy." Though she says this, and I was sure she was telling the truth, I could see a hint of an amused smirk on her face. Which made me a little worried about what was in that box. With a last wave, she entered the portal and it closed behind her. I looked down at the box and gave it a shake.

(Hmm... Some clothes, something else, I can't really tell what it is... Curious, indeed.)

"Hey, Daddy, what's that box?" I heard Hamuko ask me. Looking down, I saw that she was looking up at me, curiosity in her eyes and her head tilted a little.

"Oh, it's just something Louisa gave me." I explained to her, "Something that she said might be use-FUL!" I had decided to open the box to see what was inside it, and closed it just as quickly. I had not expected to see the contents of the box, that's for certain.

(You have a sadistic sense of humour, Louisa! Of all the things to put in there, why that!?)

"What's in the box?" I heard Yukari ask, I immediately grabbed it and hid it behind my back as I stood up and faced her.

"Nothing! Th-There's nothing in it!" I lied, pretty pathetically if I may add. My sis didn't buy that, not for a single second.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you so nervous, huh?" She stepped closer, with the intent of stealing the box from me and showing its contents to everyone in the room. I could tell that she was going to try to steal it quickly. So I, just as quickly as she ran, jumped into the air and used my wings to fly high above the others. Yukari looked around, confused, until she noticed where I was.

"You have no power in these realms!" I taunted her from high above the others, who looked up at me, clearly not expecting something like that. Yukari sent an amused smirk back my way though.

"Um, bro. You do know that _I_ can do that also!" To illustrate her point, she summoned her set of wings and flew up towards me. My eyes widened.

"Oh no!" I let out before I took out, flying around the room with Yukari in close pursuit. Yukari tries to taunt me but I rebut her with the ultimate comeback.

"This is only going to end one way, bro!"

"Get bent!"

Clearly, I am the master of witty retorts. We circled the room and weaved in between multiple pillars before she caught up to me. It was the extra weight of the box, I tell ya. We ended up crashing right in the middle of the room due to our antics. I turned my head to look at Yukari who ended up beside me. She looked at me also, and then we both laughed uproariously. It was stupid, it really was, which was why we were laughing so much. My laughter was cut short when Hamuko belly flopped on top of me.

"Oof!"

"Haha, I defeated you Dad!" Hamuko cheerfully yelled before laughing. It was a sweet sound to my ears; I couldn't help but laugh along with her and messed with her hair a little. What I didn't notice was that the box that landed beside me, relatively undamaged surprisingly. I didn't see this until I heard someone giggle.

"Is this what I think it is?" Rise said, shaking the box a little. I couldn't do much to stop her since I was... indisposed, so to speak.

"Maybe it is!" I said quickly, "There's no need to show it to everyone though!" Even though I would like to stop her, I didn't exactly have the power to do so, so I resigned to being squashed under Hamuko... That is until I remembered something I probably should have remembered from the start.

(Wait a minute. I have a lot of demons in my soul; why am I trying to make this more complicated than it needs to be?)

"Pixie! Get her!" I ordered the fairy, but when she appeared, I knew the mischievous fairy would be of no help to me. Just from the look on her face.

"Hmm... Nah, I'm going to just let this one play out."

I gasped dramatically.

"Betrayal!" I yelled as she sat on my chest. Rise took a peak inside the box and started to laugh.

"I knew it! I haven't seen these in over three years!" She mercifully closed the box before anyone else took a look inside and placed it back beside me. I motioned for Hamuko and Pixie to let me get up which they did, reluctantly. I placed the box on the table in front of Igor and opened it. It wasn't that I had a problem showing the contents of the box to others, it just took me by surprise... I'm not fooling anyone, am I? Anyway, I took the clothes out of the box which was stacked on top, of course. When my group caught sight of the first outfit, they chuckled.

"Hey, _Magical Girl Kazuto_ is here! _Kazuto Magica, _am I right?" Yukari said, knowing full well where and when this costume was worn.

"Magical Girl?" Makoto asked, sounding perplexed.

"Haha, laugh it up." I said, completely deadpan.

"You liked it, Kaz. Don't deny it." Junpei teased, to which I blushed and looked away.

"...Yeah, I guess so..."

A round of laughter went around my group at the answer, which they knew was completely true and was the expected one.

"I knew it!" Rise yelled. She was there for that particular event at the festival, so she saw everything that happened. I pushed the costume aside and took out the next set of clothes, which my friends, sister, and lover also recognise.

"Oh, that was for the second round of the contest, wasn't it?" I nodded in response to Mitsuru's question.

"You were damn near unrecognisable in that thing." Junpei said, to which I gave him a strong glare.

"Hey, language." I warned him before looking at the other outfit. I did have fond memories of the festival; the play that I was roped into writing, the cross-dressing contest that _someone_, not naming names here, signed me up for and the general good feelings that everyone had after the festival was over. Managed to end up sick afterwards, but it was totally worth it. I didn't exactly mind the contest either once I got into picking out the outfits. It was fun. I looked at the other groups to gauge their reactions to it. The Yosukes and, oddly enough, the Naotos looked at me with sympathy. If I didn't know any better, then I would think they were roped into something similar themselves. The other people looked confused, like they didn't know what to make of it.

"You... do not seem the type." The S.E.E.S Junpei, the one from Makoto's group, said. Why the addition of their group name in front of their name? Well... You'll find out soon enough.

"I was raised as a girl for most of my life." I admitted sheepishly, "In fact, I think of myself more as a girl than I do a boy... Plus, I find the clothes comfortable." I added on, blushing. Steering away from the conversation, I looked inside the box once more and saw two more items in it. Only then did I realise why Louisa packed those clothes on top, "Oh... So that's the reason why."

"What is it?" My sis asked. I reached in and grabbed the two items in it. Her eyes widened when she saw them, "How did we forget those?"

"I didn't expect to use these tonight, so I didn't bring mine along."

"Yeah... Same here."

"Are those pocket-watches?" Makoto asked, "Interesting design." He said, taking note of the design on the cover. They were golden, and a gear design was emblazoned on it, about three gears were on it, the biggest one being cut off due to hitting the edge. I opened it up and looked at the time; no matter what time-line or universe I'm in, it's always correct. When I noticed that time was flowing normally, that's when I realised that it wasn't the Dark Hour here.

"Oh! Hey, is it safe to take the eye-patch off?"

"**Yeah, it should be safe. It isn't the Dark Hour here.**"

With the confirmation I needed, I reached to the back of my head and undid the clasp for the eye-patch, letting it fall to the ground. It took about a minute for my left eye to be able to see again. I spent most of that minute blinking at a steady rate.

"What exactly is with that eye-patch?" Makoto asked, "You're just one mystery after another."

"I can't use my left eye during the Dark Hour." I explained, "It relates to those unfortunate circumstances I mentioned earlier... By the way, I have a question for _you_ this time." Makoto and his group stood to attention when I called upon them, "Am I correct in assuming that the date is January 30th for you right now?" When I saw them nod, I continued, "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you fighting?"

"...Nyx; the harbinger of the Fall." Makoto said to me, confirming my suspicions.

"...So I was right." I said to myself.

"Why did you want to know?"

"If I'm right about this and, unfortunately, I am; then your Persona's have a justifiable, though misguided, reason not to trust me."

"What do you mean?" He asked, glancing at his Persona's.

"I won't explain anything until we're outside." I said, "I'm worried about Hamuko's safety and there isn't much to stop them from trying to kill me as soon as I tell you."

I felt a hand tug my arm, and I looked down to see Hamuko looking up at me worriedly.

"Are the monsters trying to take you away from me?" She asked, sounding just as worried. I knelt so I would be at eye-level with her.

"I won't let them do that." I told her, "I promise."

I stood up and looked at Makoto again, who agreed with what I said, judging from the silent nod I received. He turned his attention to my pocket watch.

"What is that thing?"

"I'll explain on the way out. Something tells me we'll have the time." I said, throwing Yukari's pocket-watch to her. I turned my attention to Igor now, who watched what was going on with a passive look.

"Louisa said something about a_ call from both universes_. What does that mean?" I asked.

"...Your exploits here are being watched. Not only by my master, not only by what controls the world you're in, but also by everyone you have established a bond with. All of your loved ones are gathered in a central location in their respective universes and are seeing your every move."

"...Okay, that's a little creepy." Makoto said, mirroring my thoughts precisely.

"You will be able to speak to them here, though they will have no direct influence on the events that will transpire." Igor further explained, and I nodded in response.

"That's fine. They shouldn't get involved anyway."

"Your friend, Burroughs, will be able to establish a link from here." Igor motioned to my metallic arm, but Burroughs was way ahead of him.

"I've already established a link." She said, "I'll bring up the screens now."

When she did so, we were treated to the sight of four assembly halls, two of which belong to Gekkoukan High, and the other two I recognise as Yasogami High's assembly hall, filled with at least eleven people in Makoto's universe, seven on my side, and thirteen each in Yu and Yuka's universe. They were silent, which was surprising to me, considering the normal thing that would happen in this scenario is that everyone would be talking at once.

"Uh... Hello?" I said, waving. The others looked just as nervous as I was.

"Hi, uncle..." Yuka said, coughing into her hand.

Yu and Makoto stayed silent.

"...I have a few questions for all of you." I started, seeing as no-one seemed to be willing to do much, "First question: Has someone explained what's going on to you? Suited guy, butterfly mask?"

"Yup." Jun stepped up front to tell me, "How did I know you were involved with this somehow?"

"Give me some credit, Jun." I said, exasperated, "This time it wasn't my fault."

"That isn't fair, Kaz." She told me, "You were just a kid."

"...I know, but still..." I coughed into my hand before changing the uncomfortable subject, "Second question... How much of this have you saw?"

"All of it." The Chihiro from the other universe said, "Including what happened with the Shadowlord."

That was pretty much what I expected.

"I want to speak with the man called Kazuto." A middle aged man standing in the Yasogami assembly hall said, he looked to be in his late thirties though I could be wrong about that; wore a shirt and tie, looked like a detective from the looks of it. I stood to attention.

"That's me." I said.

"...I just wanted to say this." He started, "You're not a failure as a father. You fought with everything you had just to save her; that alone is enough for me to consider you a worthy father for that girl." He stated with absolute certainty, "I know how it feels to lose a daughter. Your reaction was exactly the same as mine."

"Uncle..." Yuka said, sounding a little surprised. Hamuko had her own words to say about the subject.

"I have the best dad ever!" She announced cheerfully, sounding proud, "He kicks all the monsters butts!"

I chuckled lightly and rubbed my head.

"Well, I don't know about that..." I said with a goofy smile.

"Hey, Dad. Can I play with your wings?" Hamuko asked me with those puppy dog eyes. I couldn't say no when she gives me that look.

"Alright." I said, smiling as I summoned my wings. Yosuke, who was standing near me, jumped a little. He wasn't expecting me to do that, that's for sure. I laughed a little when I heard the yelp he let out.

"It never gets old." I commented before turning my attention back to the last screen. I flapped my wings at a steady pace, keeping Hamuko amused and occupied. A small girl had walked up to the screen with the same detective guy from before. I couldn't tell if it was Yu's or Yuka's universe, but judging from Yuka's reaction, I would say this was Yu's universe.

"...Are you an angel?" The small girl asked me. I assumed that it was the detective's daughter. I nodded my head in affirmation, "Does that mean you can visit Heaven?" She asked innocently. I tensed up slightly but not enough for it to be noticeable.

"Uh... Yeah... So to speak." I said vaguely, not giving a definite answer.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?"

I didn't know how I could refuse, so I nodded.

"If you ever meet my mother up there, can you tell her I said hi... And that I miss her."

My face softened when I heard her request. Her tone was sad and yet, it was content. I didn't know how to describe it, but it wasn't a tone I would associate with kids. Without thinking, I nodded again.

"Yes. I'll tell her that."

The girl smiled and walked back to a seat with her dad. I looked back to the screen showing my universe and I saw a familiar face there.

"Hey, Kaz!" Hitomi said cheerfully, "Caught up in some trouble again?"

"You can say that." I replied sarcastically, "Sure wish you could help us from where you are."

"Hey, we'll be with you in spirit." She told us, "You ever need to talk to us, just call. That long nosed guy should be the one to ask if you want to do that."

"Got it."

"Just remember, we'll be watching. So don't look like an idiot, eh? We have a reputation to maintain!"

"Since when?" With that sarcastic question hanging in the air, Burroughs closed the link to each of our universes. I turned from the screens to look at Igor; Elizabeth kindly packed the clothes back into the box and left it on the table.

"Your next task should be to reach the outside world. Down that hallway, you will find the front door." He pointed to the door off to his left, "From this point onward, your battles will become a lot more challenging."

"Good." I said excitedly, picking up the box. We were all ready, reinvigorated and willing to fight whatever came our way.

(Look out, world. I don't think you're quite ready to meet all of us.)


End file.
